


Injustice: War of the Lantern Corps. (Year Two)

by SpiritFighter88



Series: Injustice: Stray AU [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Injustice: Gods Among Us
Genre: AU of Injustice, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, M/M, Tim Drake is Catlad, Tim Drake is Stray, mostly canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2019-11-06 19:38:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17945870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritFighter88/pseuds/SpiritFighter88
Summary: As the Insurgency teams up with the Green Lantern Corps to fight Superman, the Regime, and his new ally, Sinestro, Stray does what he knows best, survive. As a war nears, Tim must work with old friends and new, even as a mysterious assassin comes into his life suddenly.





	1. Character Status After Year One

**Insurgency:**

-Tim Drake/Stray formerly known as Catlad.

-Bruce Wayne/Batman

-Selina Kyle/Catwoman

-Dinah Lance/Black Canary

-Wally West/Impulse formerly known as Kid Flash I.

-Helena Bertinelli/Huntress

-Kate Kane/Batwoman

-Alfred Pennyworth

-Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning

-Barbara Gordon/Oracle formerly known as Batgirl. (Mentioned in Year One to be in hiding from Cyborg)

 

**Regime:**

-Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman

-Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

-Hal Jordan/Green Lantern

-Barry Allen/The Flash

-Lex Luthor

-Billy Batson/Shazam

-Damian Wayne/Robin III

-Shiera Hall/Hawkgirl

-Victor Stone/Cyborg

-Rachel Roth/Raven

 

**No Alliance:**

-Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn

-Arthur Curry/Aquaman

-Garth/Aqualad

-Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy

-Jonathan and Martha Kent

-The President of the United States

-Lobo

-Darkseid

-Ares

-Mitchell Davies/Galaxor

-Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern (mentioned to be in space)

-Rosabelle Mendez/Pantha (mentioned to be in hiding from the Wildebeest Society)

 

**Imprisoned:**

-Teth-Adam/Black Adam

-Cyrus Gold/Solomon Grundy

-Leonard Snart/Captain Cold

-Sam Scudder/Mirror Master

-Harvey Dent/Two-Face

-Frankie Kane/Magenta

-Alexander Petrov/Mister Element

 

 **Deceased:**  (In Order of Death)

-Karen Beecher/Bumblebee, murdered by Deathstroke, Terra, and Rose Wilson prior to the events of the story.

-Jimmy Olsen, shot dead by Joker.

-Lois Lane, died in space after Superman-with fear gas in his system-mistook her for Doomsday and attacked.

-Garfield Logan/Beast Boy, killed in the nuclear explosion in Metropolis.

-Bart Allen/Kid Flash II, killed in the nuclear explosion in Metropolis.

-Jesse Chambers/Jesse Quick, killed in the nuclear explosion in Metropolis.

-Joker, murdered by Superman after blowing up Metropolis.

-Dick Grayson/Nightwing, formerly known as Robin I, snapped his neck on a loose piece of gravel after being stunned from a blow by Robin (Damian Wayne).

-Kafka, a sentient being of roaches burned alive by Spoiler.

-David Hersch/Cicada, killed by Stray.

-Stephanie Brown/Spoiler, killed by a Parademon during Kailbak's invasion.

-Kalibak, murdered by Superman.

-Jack and Janet Drake, died during Kalibak's invasion.

-Tula/Aquagirl, died during Kalibak's invasion.

-J'onn J'onzz/John Jones/Martian Manhunter, burned alive by Superman's heat vision.

-The Wildebeest Society, killed in an explosion caused by Raven.

-Nathaniel Adam/Captain Adam, self destructed in the hopes to kill Superman.

-Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, beaten to death by Superman.

 

**Believed To Be Deceased:**

-Jason Todd, formerly known as Robin II. Murdered by The Joker but was resurrected by Ra's al Ghul in secret.

-Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, thought to have died of laughing gas but survived and is in hiding.

-The **Teen Titans** , consisting of Koriand'r/Starfire, Cassie Sandsmark/Wonder Girl, Conner Kent/Kon-El/Superboy, and Roy Harper/Red Arrow, formerly known as Speedy and Arsenal. Thought to have either abandoned Earth after confronting Superman or to have been killed by him. In truth, they've been trapped inside the Phantom Zone after Superman critically wounded Superboy.

 

 

*Note: Some characters listed above were not in my first story but were featured in some way in the original Injustice comics, they've just yet to interact with Stray*


	2. Getting The Band Back Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After hiding out with Catwoman in Hawaii, Stray reunites with the Insurgency, which is under new leadership.  
> *Takes place during Injustice: Gods Among Us (Year Two) #1*

_Then..._

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Roy shouts. "I thought you had to yell Uno as soon as you were down to one card?"

"Oh, he's right Starfire," Steph says, shaking her head. "You gotta draw a card."

"Oh!" Kori cries. "But I was going to be victorious!"

"Not this round, Princess," Karen teases, dropping her card next. After her it's Cassie's turn, who lets out a sigh of disappointment before grabbing another card.

Now it's Tim's turn. Kon's beside him with the most cards in his hand out of everyone. He realizes Tim is grinning at him and immediately gets suspicious. "Babe, what are you thinking?"

Tim continues to grin and softly messages his boyfriend's hand entwined in his. "Remember when you ate my last creamsicle last week and tried to blame it on Stephanie?" He asks sweetly.

"Yeah, asshole, he tried to trip me during a combat simulation," Steph complains. "You know what it's like to be tripped when there's a bunch of laser guns trying to lock onto you? Oh wait, you're invulnerable, who cares!"

Kon ignores Steph's outburst, instead giving Tim a look of horror. "Babe, you can't do this!" He pleads. "You've already given me two 'draw 2's' and one skip!"

"Oh but I can," Tim responds gleefully before slamming a 'draw 4' in the middle of the pile. Kon and Kori gasp while Roy, Karen, and Cassie burst out laughing.

"Is it worth it?" Kon asks dramatically as he draws four cards to add to his already ridiculously full hand. "Is it worth destroying what we have?"

"Absolutely," Tim answers, adjusting his two cards. He might be able to win this round if Cassie keeps slacking, which is great because he's tired of Roy winning all the damn time. The doorbell rings and everyone slightly perks up a little.

"Pizza!" They all announce. It's Karen who actually gets up to go get it. They all decide to take a break while she's gone and Tim takes the opportunity to snuggle closer to Kon. The other male tries to resist at first by keeping his arms close, but eventually he gives and pulls him closer. It's rare the team gets nights off like this, but when they do Tim appreciates it so much. Being a hero is such hard work, at least when he was robbing diamonds with Catwoman they worked on their own schedule. No, now Tim's schedule depended on whether or not Doctor Light was going to try to blow up a bridge or something.

Speaking of things blowing up, the entrance to Titan's Tower just exploded with Karen leaping out of harm's way just in time. "It's Gizmo!" Karen yells.

"Titans, go!" Starfire shouts. Tim sighs as the Titans spring into action, including his very comfortable boyfriend. Hopefully the pizza didn't actually suffer any damages or else he's going to punch that little twerp in the nuts.

With as much enthusiasm as a corpse buried underground, Tim uncoils his whip and runs to one of Gizmo's little robots to save the day one more freaking time.

 

.

 

Tim didn't know Kon kept photos of the team at their 'spot' in Hawaii, but he should've known since Kon is secretly the most sentimental person he's ever known. They took the photo right after they defeated Gizmo and, damn, they looked so happy. Now everything's changed. Out of his original team, Karen and Steph were confirmed dead while Kori, Cassie, Roy, and Kon were all MIA. Joining Karen and Steph from the entire Titans roster were Garfield, Bart, Tula, and even Dick Grayson.

Raven and Victor were still alive, but they couldn't be trusted. The only ones he did trust were Garth and Wally and he hasn't heard from them. Not since they all went into hiding from the man in red and blue.

Pushing Superman over the edge was simple enough; Joker planted a bomb in Lois, tricked Superman into killing her and their unborn child, then blew up Metropolis. After that, in was only a matter of time before Superman took matters into his own hands. He killed the Joker, but the clown prince of crime wasn't the only one to meet his end. Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, and Green Arrow also lost their lives when confronting the new world leader.

Now what remained of Batman's Insurgency was scattered with no contact. Their mission, although successful, to gain access to Superman's new super pills changed them from an inconvenience to a full on threat and Superman has already declared there is only one way to deal with threats.

While Batman attempted one last time to get the data they needed to replicate the super pills, Tim took an unconscious Selina Kyle with him to his and Kon's old hideout to wait for his signal. But now that weeks have passed, they have to face the harsh reality that Batman must have somehow failed and that Superman had won. It was easy for Tim to accept it, but it was hard for Selina, who wanted more than anything to break free from the cave and go find the others.

"He's out there, Tim!" She argued the same argument almost every day now. "You were smart enough call Alfred-"

"Alfred is a butler who can only do so much," He argues. He didn't want to believe his words, but Tim's been paying close attention to the real world via some tech he managed to steal on the island. It wasn't much but if there were any signs that Batman was on the move, he would've noticed.

Selina sighs. "I just hate being cooped up here, Kitten," she admits. "You should know not to keep a cat locked in all day."

"I'm working on it," he promises. "I'm almost positive I can get us to New Orleans by next month but it's kinda hard when I know Cyborg has eyes on literally every computer in existence." It was hard, but Cyborg's biggest mistake was showing Stray some hacks with technology because after that, Tim got hooked. Now he knew how to avoid the former Titan, who was now working with Superman. He couldn't be online for long though, which was making everything that much more difficult.

"Well we're running low on food supplies," She notes, plopping down on the couch. Tim lets out a sigh and checks the clock. It's evening, so he supposes he could do a quick run and grab some things for dinner, maybe even breakfast the next day. 

It takes him no time at all to slip into his scuba gear before making his way to the small pool of water, the only way in or out of the cave.

"Be careful, Kitten," Selina warns. She didn't know how to swim, which is why she's so fussy, so it's always Tim who has to go out and do everything. He gives her a thumbs up before finally plummeting into the water. He ends up swimming next to a school of fish the entire way to the port he keeps a shed to stash the scuba gear in. He's undressing and slipping into civilian clothes when a quiet _poof_ sounds behind him. Tim reaches for the blade hidden on his calf and turns around to see-

"Zatanna?!" He cries out. He lowers his knife but doesn't change his look of suspicion as the girl in front of him grins.

"I told them you wouldn't be hard to find," she said. "It only took me one chant."

"Yippee for you," He mumbles. "Why are you here? Who are you working with?"

"Your friends," she answers. "They've been looking for you for weeks now via Oracle but she's been having a hard time getting a lock on you."

Tim wouldn't go as far as calling the Insurgency his friends but he has to admit it's a bit of an ego boost knowing The Oracle aka Barbara Gordon couldn't find him, seeing as she's the most brilliant human to ever come out of Gotham. "So does this mean Batman's ok?"

Zatanna makes a face. "Well...he's alive?"

Tim shakes his head. "I guess I'll take that as good news." Looks like Alfred can do the impossible. "You came alone?"

"Not quite," she says, before a quick gust of wind rushes through both of them. Tim didn't even have to turn around to know who was wrapping their arms around him.

"Hey, Tim!" Wally greets cheerfully. "Do you know how many times I've ran through Hawaii looking for you? A ton!"

"At least every other day," Zatanna adds.

Now if there was anyone left alive Tim would consider a friend, it's Wally. Despite briefly knowing each other, Tim was the one that brought him out of retirement to join the Insurgency and they've been working together ever since. He thought the speedster was a little much at first, but he's starting to grow on him. He'd never tell him, but he was happy to see him too.

"So if Oracle's involved now, I'm guessing she's rounded up everyone else?" Tim asks. Most of what was left of the Insurgency consisted of Oracle's Birds of Prey so she shouldn't have had much trouble getting in contact with them.

"You guessed correct," Zatanna sings. "You and Catwoman are the last ones. Is she still up to helping the cause?"

Tim rolls his eyes. "She'll do anything to get out of that cave I have her in. Plus, she'd be happy to hear Bruce is alive." Granted, Bruce and Selina didn't exactly leave on good terms. Selina wasn't going to let him face Superman alone so he sprayed her with sleeping gas. If he wasn't already breathing through a tube he was about to be once Selina sees him again.

"Great!" Zatanna shouts. "I'll go grab her. Impulse, would you take Stray back to base?"

"Not a problem," Wally says, a mischeiveous grin now on his face.

Tim arches his eyebrow. "I swear on my love for food if you even think about-"

Wally cuts him off by throwing him over his shoulder like a bag of flour and speeds off through the ocean. He gets a quick view of Wally's backside before the other male kicks up water into his face, forcing him to close his eyes. Eventually Wally gets the hint and hoists him up so that now he can open his eyes. It does nothing since everything around him is a blur, but the new position has Wally's arm right under Tim's butt.

"You know you could have at least brought me something to eat before trying to make a move," He teases.

"No one's trying to grab your ass, Stray," Wally replies. Tim can't see but he knows the other is smiling.

"Says the one currently grabbing my ass," He replies back. Instead of adding on to the bickering, Wally stops running with a sudden halt, and tosses Tim to the ground. He was probably hoping he'd fall on said ass but Tim's a cat and he still manages to twist and land on his feet even when he is least expecting to.

"We're here," Wally announces gleefully. They're in front of a building Tim's never seen before, but it's clear they're back in Gotham. Not much has changed in the city he grew up in. As dangerous and disgusting as she is, Gotham would always be one of a kind.

Tim follows Wally to the door where a scanner appears and identifies them both before the doors open. As soon as it does, a string of loud bangs echo through the building. Wally doesn't pay any attention to it, so after awhile Tim goes back to checking his surroundings. This is clearly The Oracle's headquarters which is made even more obvious when they find Barbara in front of giant computer screens. Next to her is Catwoman, watching the screens as well.

"Aw man!" Wally whines. "I thought I'd be able to beat her!"

"As fast as you are Wally," Barbara starts, turning around in her chair. "You're not fast enough to beat a magic chant."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," He says. "Is she off to go check on Brucey?"

Barbara nods her head, which earns a scoff from Catwoman. "No one still hasn't told me where he is," she points out. "I won't hurt him, I promise."

"I want it to go on record that I don't believe you but you'll see Batman soon, Catwoman," Barbara assures her. It's the answer she's looking for so Catwoman gives a 'hmph' of triumph before the doors to the tower open and in walks the members of the Birds of Prey. Tim's always been familiar with Batwoman and Huntress, but it was when they all were in the Insurgency did he get closer to them. Batwoman was beginning to train Stray in her fighting style and him and Huntress just agreed on a lot of things, so naturally they were cool. Black Canary is right behind them, all focused and serious, and Tim knows instantly that she's been determined like this ever since Oliver died.

The loud banging he heard earlier returns and Barbara gives an exasperated groan. "Helena please go calm him down," she begs. "He's been cranky for a few hours now."

Huntress lets out sigh. "Ugh, he probably just wants to come out and play," she says as she walks out of the room and into another hallway.

"Who are we talking about?" Tim asks.

"Baby," Wally answers. "Don't remember? We rescued him a few months back."

The image of a hybrid human-beast child comes to Tim's head and he can't believe he forgot all about Baby Wildebeest. "How is he?"

"Strong," Barbara tells him, although Tim can't tell with her tone if she's happy about that or not. Probably the latter. "We've been keeping him here for the time being."

"Didn't take you as a babysitter, Babs," Catwoman teases.

Barbara ignores her, instead turning to Batwoman and Canary. "Patrol went better as expected."

Batwoman shrugs. "Not much crime to stop when you live in a world controlled by an all-powerful dictator," she says.

"He isn't all-powerful," Black Canary hisses. "He can be taken down."

"Is this all of us?" Tim asks. The League is a global team and not everyone has joined Superman's Regime. He just figured with the deaths of Green Arrow and Captain Atom, there'd be more metas willing to join the cause.

"Unfortunately, yes," Barbara answers. "We've tried recruiting Black Lightning, Animal Man, The Atom, Jesse Quick and Vixen but they all decided not to get involved or couldn't be contacted. It doesn't help that Superman has propaganda against us displayed all across the world."

"We're enough," Canary responds. "Especially once Wally finishes making those pills."

"You were able to recreate them?" Catwoman asks. Tim also stares at Wally. He knew the other was smart but he didn't think he was _that_ smart.

"Just waiting to finish the final touches," He boasts, turning to glare at Tim. "And don't give me that look, Non-Believer, I'm a fucking genius."

Tim laughs and raises his hands. "Fair enough."

"We should call it a night then," Barbara says. "Tomorrow is Oliver's funeral and-"

"Wait, what?" Tim interrupts. He gives a look of confusion to Black Canary and then back to Barbara. "How is that possible?"

"Green Lantern contacted me a few days ago," Canary answers bitterly. "They've been preserving his body and Superman is granting us amnesty to bury him."

Huntress re-enters the room and scoffs. "The fact he thinks he can just give us amnesty like we wouldn't do it anyways is ridiculous." Tim looks down at the little runt at her feet. Baby Wildebeest has definitely grown since they first rescued him from the Wildebeest cult (well, technically they rescued him after the cult was destroyed by Raven). He's now just short of passing Helena's knees and is all hairy but still has the adorable face of a baby.

"Just remember to play everything cool," Barbara says. "Even though Dinah has her mission, this is still a day to mourn for our comrade and friend. Don't do anything to jeopardize our mission."

With that, everyone said their farewell. Catwoman and Stray were allowed to stay in the tower since their apartment has been long abandoned. Turns out everyone else is also staying there so it wasn't that big of an issue. Wally said he'd run out and get some civilian clothes for them for tomorrow's funeral so all that was left for Tim was to change out of his suit and go to bed.

Tomorrow, they would finally be able to lay Oliver Queen to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Here's the first official chapter of Year Two! Not much action, but everyone's back together again! Hope you all enjoy it, please leave a comment to let me know what you think!


	3. Static Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Green Arrow's Funeral, Black Lightning needs Tim and Wally's help reaching out to a teen with newly discovered powers.

Tim's said it once and he'll say it again. He hates funerals. The only reason he's attending Oliver Queen's funeral is because members of Superman's Regime were also attending, and Tim would be damned if he let them mourn his death in peace when it was the man they're following who was responsible for their death.

He stayed cool for most of it, out of respect for Dinah, but she had her own mission. It wasn't until the crowd left her and Hal alone to talk that he started being messy, with Victor as his first target. To be fair, Cyborg came up to him first.

"You're hard to find, Stray," He whispers. "I knew it was making a mistake teaching you all my tricks."

"Sorry if I'm not interested in being murdered by Superman after being caught by you," He replies. Cyborg looks at him wide eyed, like he's actually shocked he would say such a thing because of their friendship, but Tim doesn't care. He's lost too many friends to care anymore.

Cyborg walks off without saying another word so Tim moves on to his next target: Barry. He's easy enough to find; talking to Wally. Barry's asking how Iris is doing when Tim walks up to them. Barry stops to look at him. "Hello, can we help you?"

He's surprised to know that Barry doesn't know his real identity but he doesn't let it show, shrugging at the man's question instead. "Probably not," He says. "You have to have a spine to help someone. Oh, like that kid you saw Wonder Woman and Superman paralyze while you sat around and did nothing."

Barry looks at him like he just murdered his entire family. "How do you-"

"And we're leaving!" Wally shouts, grabbing Tim by the arm and pulling him away from the rest of the Insurgency. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Giving these assholes what they deserve," Tim answers, already looking around for his next victim.

"We're supposed to behave ourselves," Wally hisses into his ear. "If the Regime react-"

"Fine!" He cuts off, shoving Wally's arm off him. "I'll be good." He hasn't done nearly as much damage as he wants to, but Wally has a point. It's too early to ruffle any feathers right now, but, damn, did Tim really want to ruffle all the fucking feathers.

"Tim, Wally," a deep voice calls. They both turn around to see Jefferson Pierce aka Black Lightning approaching them both. "Can I have a word in private?"

Tim and Wally exchange looks before Wally shrugs a 'why not' and then turns to Jefferson. "Sure," he says. The older man leads the way and they follow him to his car. As they walk away Tim catches the concerning glances of Selina and Helena but motions with his hands that they're fine. Wally is the fastest man alive anyways, so getting out of tough situations shouldn't be too difficult.

"Care to go for a ride?" Jefferson asks. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Can I point out how creepy this is?" Tim asks.

That gets a chuckle out of Jefferon, which does lighten the mood. "I assure you, you'll be fine. I have a young man with me who is having a hard time. He's a big fan of the Teen Titans and I think it would be a good idea if he got to speak to the two of you."

Tim makes a face. He hates meet and greets. "I mean, I technically quit the team."

"So?" Wally asks, apparently interested in meeting the kid. "I did, too."

Tim rolls his eyes. "Yeah, but you quit for the greater good," He reminds him. "I quit so I could continue a fabulous life of crime."

Wally snorts. "You're not that fabulous, computer nerd."

"Says the science dork," Tim snaps back before turning back to Jefferson. "And why should we do you a solid when you quit the Insurgency?"

"I have a family to protect," Jefferson says.

"And how will you defend them when Superman declares all heroes not working for him are against him?" Tim asks.

"It won't come to that," He sighs. "And if it does, then this young man will need guidance more than ever."

"He's a meta?" Wally asks. When Jefferson nods Wally gives Tim a look saying 'well, now we have to go' to which Tim gives a look saying 'the fuck we do!'

"We'll come!" Wally announces and Tim groans loudly but still gets in the car behind him.

 

.

 

The boy Jefferson wants Wally and Tim to meet is staying at the same hotel as him. Working for the government, Jefferson is able to stay at one of the fancier hotels, the ones that offer fresh baked cookies at the front desk. After both him and Wally take two batches of chocolate chip cookies, they follow Jefferson into the elevator which takes them to the floor where their rooms were.

Jefferson points out the room the kid is staying at. "You two go ahead," He says. "I'm going to my room to call my daughter for her birthday."

Tim watches as the older man walks away. "Isn't there a high chance that the offspring of a meta will have powers too?"

"Very highly," Wally answers. "It's how Bart got his powers."

"Do you think Jefferson's girls might develop any?"

"Good chance they will," He says. If that's the case, then Tim feels that's just another reason for Jefferson to help fight. Superman's paranoia will only grow the longer he's in power, Tim thinks all heroes who disagree with him will suffer the same fate as Green Arrow soon enough. Unless they stop him.

When they get in front of the door Jefferson points at, Wally sighs. "Brings back memories."

Tim raises an eyebrow. "You used to being in and out of hotels?"

"Oh, please, like you haven't!" Wally scoffs.

He hasn't, actually, but he still pretends to think about it before shaking his head. "Can't say I have."

Wally's cheeks turn slightly red as he clears his throat. "Yeah, well, being horny all the time comes with the powers. After my breakup with my first serious girlfriend I sorta took advantage of the situation."

"You fucked everyone in sight," Tim summarized, fighting back a chuckle at the way Wally's eyes grow in embarrassment.

"Must you always be so vulgar?" Wally whines.

Tim laughs. "Everyone does it," He says. "I sort of did it after breaking up with Kon."

"How so?" Wally asks. Were they ever going to knock on the door?

"You know Kyle Rayner?"

"No!?!" Wally gasps. "He swung that way?"

"Hm, most likely for the night only."

Wally shakes his head with a smile on his face as he raises his hand to knock on the door, but he stops. "Wait, have you tried to reach out to him? Maybe he can help with the Insurgency?"

"When we recruited you Batman had files on every super in the League," He told him. "All the other Lanterns are off world currently."

"Bummer."

Tim agreed. It's just their luck that out of the four Lanterns that live on Earth the one that supports Superman is the one they get stuck with. Then again, Tim isn't even sure the others would have joined the Insurgency, but he likes to think that Kyle would. His blowjob skills are _**that**_ impressive.

The sound of someone clearing their throat startles them both and they turn to see a young male who's maybe a couple of years older than Damian standing in front of the door.

"How long have you been standing there?" Tim asks.

The kid smirks. "Long enough to know that you're superheroes," He says, before turning to look at Wally. "And super horny."

Wally gasps and turns to leave. "This was a mistake-"

"Wait!" The young teen reaches out and grabs Wally's sleeve. "I heard commotion outside my door and thought it was the room service I ordered," He explains. "Are you here because of Mr. Pierce?"

Tim laughs at Wally's embarrassment before nodding his head. "What's your name, kid?"

"Virgil Hawkins," He states proudly, before the excitement gets the best of him and he starts to slightly wiggle in anticipation. "Do you have powers? Are you apart of the Teen Titans? Where are they, actually? Is it true there's different realities-"

"Whoa, one question at a time," Tim says, before looking down both hallways. "And how about we take this inside."

Virgil nods his head furiously before moving aside to let Wally and Tim in. Wally must've gotten over his initial embarrassment because he takes the lead then. He explains how he used to be Kid Flash, who happens to be Virgil's favorite Teen Titan, and that Tim used to be Catlad, who Virgil can't seem to remember. He tries not to take offense, it's not like he's saved the world or anything (oh, wait, HE HAS).

Wally smirks at that. "Can't blame you. No one ever remembers the one with no super powers."

"Which is perfect when you want to go for their throat unnoticed," Tim threatens, smiling sweetly at Wally. He'll make a mental note for later. He turns his attention back to Virgil. "So what can you do, kid?"

Virgil beams up at that before raising his hands. Before either of them could ask what he's doing, static electricity starts to form in the space between each hand. "I can't do much," He says. "But I can fry most electronics to the point of no return."

"Well," Tim says. "Now we know why you sought out Jefferson."

Virgil jumps up then. "So am I in?" he asks.

Confused, Tim and Wally both look at each other. He doesn't know when they got so good with talking through their eyes but here they are, doing just that.

'What is he talking about?' Wally's look says.

'How the fuck should I know, Wally?' Tim's look shoots back.

Wally rolls his eyes and turns back to smile at Virgil. "What do you mean, buddy?"

"Am I joining the Titans?" Virgil clarifies. "Mr. Pierce said it couldn't happen but I knew he was being overprotective! I'm so excited to learn from you guys, I've never wanted anything more in my life. I swear-"

"Whoa, kid!" Tim yells. "You're not joining the Teen Titans. There isn't even a Teen Titans at the moment."

Virgil's face looks as if someone just shot his dog in front of him. "What? Where are they? What about you?"

Tim doesn't have to look at Wally to know the other wants him to handle the situation. Tim's just always been good at delivering bad news apparently. He thought of explaining the age cap (besides Kori and Roy, member of the Titans usually left the team once they turned eighteen. Kon and Cassie were up next to join before they disappeared), but stopped himself just as he opened his mouth. He thought about Selina and how she never would sugar coat anything with him. Virgil's young and naive and also didn't have a grip on his powers completely. With everything going on with Superman and the Regime, Tim understands why Jefferson told him he couldn't join.

"It's not safe to be a Titan," He states.

Defiance quickly fills Virgil's eyes. "But I can do it! I know I can! Once-"

"Right now we are facing an enemy that is more dangerous than anyone we've ever faced," Tim cuts off. "Do you have potential? Yes, absolutely. Are you on the same level as Superboy, Wondergirl, Red Arrow, and Starfire? Absolutely not. They were the team's greatest members and do you know what happened to them?"

Virgil doesn't say anything but Tim doesn't need him to.

"They're dead," He reveals. "They died at the hands of the enemy we're facing now. The same enemy who is responsible for the death of Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter. The same enemy that forced all of us, including Mr. Pierce, into hiding. This is the enemy we're dealing with, this is the enemy you'd be dealing with. I'm sorry, Virgil, but if you joined us now, you'll die before you turn sixteen."

Tim knew he sounded harsh and he knew he's technically assuming the fate of his friends, but he couldn't let Virgil get dragged into this. The kid drops his eyes to floor and sits on the edge of the bed, ultimately looking defeated.

There's a few knocks on the door before Jefferson walks into the room. It only takes a few moments for him to understand what happened, it's probably the reason why he brought them to meet the kid. "My driver is ready outside to take you wherever you need to go."

"Thanks, Pierce," Wally replies, before walking up to Virgil. "Listen, Virgil, you can still help out."

"Really?" Virgil asks, eyes lighting up with hope. Jefferson and Tim both looked shocked as Wally nods his head.

"You can help by staying safe," He reveals. "Keep practicing with your powers, yes, but staying safe and out of harm's way is the best way for you to help us."

"How's that going to help you?" Virgil asks.

"Because there is going to be a time and place when we're going to need your help," Wally explains, digging into his pocket. He pulls out an original Teen Titans communicator and hands it to him. "And when that time comes, we'll need you to be ready."

Virgil looks over the device in his hands, proud to be given the responsibility Wally just bestowed on him. "I'll be ready," He says, clutching the device to his chest. "I promise."

"Good!" Wally chirps. "Then it's time for me and Timmy to head on out. Take care, man!" Wally and Virgil fist bump each other before the younger waves goodbye to Tim, who returns the gesture. They say their farewells to Jefferson as well before walking out of the hotel room. It's not until they're in the car that Tim turns to Wally.

"That device hasn't worked in years," He accuses.

Wally shrugs. "It's going to keep him alive and out of trouble," He says. "Sounds like it works to me."

Tim didn't have a response, mainly because he agreed, so he stays quiet. Hopefully, they were able to save one more person from suffering the same fate as their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a filler chapter, yes, but a lot of the Year Two chapters take place in space and I did say I wanted to introduce more Teen Titans characters. Static Shock is such a favorite of mine, not sure when he'll return but I'd like him to. Please let me know what you think and if there's any characters you'd like to see!


	4. The League of Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Tim visits Batman, he becomes a target to the most deadly organization of assassins in the world.

"So why is it that we're the first ones besides Alfred to see Bruce since Superman injured him?" Tim asks. He's currently at Oracle's headquarters with Zatanna, who is going to finally take him and Selina to the Tower of Fate once the latter shows up. At first he didn't get why he had to go, other than being moral support for Selina, but then Zatanna told him Alfred wanted to see him.

Zatanna shrugs her shoulders. "This may be hard to believe, but Bruce doesn't have a lot of friends," She says. "Plus with Raven running around trying to find him, it can get a little risky."

"So again I ask, why?" He repeats. "Sounds like a big risk."

Zatanna rolls her eyes. "Honestly, Babs is getting tired of Selina's complaining. At this point I think she'd rather go against Doomsday herself."

Tim can relate. As much as he cares for Selina, he knows how persistent she can be when things don't end on her terms. She isn't going to let this go until she confronts Bruce so it's best for every party involved to just let it happen. He leans against the wall as he takes a better look at Zatanna. He met her during his Titan days. She was close to becoming a member, but there was this whole thing with an evil sorcerer that resulted in her father's death. She decided to turn down the offer to live in his legacy.

"Got caught in this mess too, huh?" He tells her.

Zatanna's smile softens, as if just remembering the situation they're in. "Superman's Regime has it's hold on the entire globe, we're all caught in it now."

Heels clanking on the tile floor alert them to Selina turning the corner, in her suit just like Tim. "I'm ready whenever you are," she says.

Zatanna nods her head. "Link hands, it'll be easier," she says. Tim takes both of their hands in his and scoots closer. When Zatanna looks satisfied, she squeezes her hands and closes her eyes. " _Ekat su ot eht Rewot fo Etaf_!"

Traveling via magic is quite different than traveling through technology. Although Tim's used to it now, traveling with teleporters used to give him such a headache, but not with magic. With Magic, it's a simple blink and you're there. No change at all, not even some slight dizziness.

With Zatanna's chants, what was once the walls of Barb's headquarters were now the hallways of the Tower of Fate. Tim's never been here before but it only takes one glance to know that this place is huge and full of infinite possibilities.

"Where is he?" Selina asks, patient as always.

"First door to the right," Zatanna mumbles, pointing in the direction of the room. Selina is gone in a flash, leaving Tim with Zatanna. He watches as she pulls out some type of stone from her pocket, something she notices. "It belongs in the Tower. Only way I'm able to travel back and forth here is because Doctor Fate enchanted it as a sort of key."

"And how does Doctor Fate feel about all this?" Tim asks. He's never met the guy, but Dick had once explained that Doctor Fate was an agent of Order, only taking sides to avoid control being passed to Chaos.

"Hard to say," she replies. "He owes me a favor, though, so he agreed to look after Bruce."

"And why are you so keen to looking after Bruce?" He asks.

Zatanna shrugs her shoulders. "I'm helping a friend out."

Tim makes a face. "I thought we established Bruce doesn't have friends."

"Not Master Bruce, Master Timothy," a familiar, British accent says. Tim is already smiling as he turns around to see Alfred, still in his ridiculous butler outfit. "Me. I was a very close friend to Miss Zatanna's father."

Tim rolls his eyes. "Of course you were." Tim runs up to give the man a hug, which surprises both of them but not enough to break away. "I'm glad you're ok, old man."

"As am I," Alfred reveals. "Master Wayne and I are in your debt. Had it not been for your call, I'm afraid I would've arrived too late."

Tim had almost forgotten that he had called Alfred as a last minute attempt to save Bruce from Superman. "Wait, so how did all that even go down?" He asks. No offense to Alfred, but not even the task force Bruce picked to go to the Fortress of Solitude was enough to stop him.

"I simply took the enhanced pills Master Bruce was trying to decode and did away with Mister Kent," He reveals.

Tim gasps, loving everything about what he was just told. "Holy shit, Alfred! Did you put the hurt on Superman?"

"Language, Master Timothy," He says sternly. He pauses before grinning. "But know I showed Mister Kent just exactly how Master Bruce learned how to defend himself." They both laugh at that and Tim almost wants to give him a high five but then remembers that this is Alfred and not Wally.

"How is the old grump?" Zatanna asks. "Any progress?"

"Still very much in pain," Alfred reveals, glancing at the room. "However I'm sure it is nothing compared to what Miss Kyle has in store for him."

"Right," He says, looking at the room as well. "We should probably head in there and do some damage control."

"My thoughts precisely."

Tim lets Alfred and Zatanna lead the way but when he starts hearing Selina yelling and moves to the front of the pack. An angry Selina will lash out at anyone who gets in the way, him being the exception.

"I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE MET SOMEONE WITH THEIR HEAD SO FAR UP THEIR ASS LIKE YOU!" Selina roars.

"Wow," Zatanna breathes out. "On second thought I'll stay out here."

Tim laughs nervously as he opens the room. The first thing he sees is Selina hovering over an injured Bruce in bed. Her face is literally inches away but, to his credit, Bruce doesn't so much as flinch as she continues her rant.

"YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO DECIDE WHAT WAS BEST FOR ME!" She continues.

"I was trying-" he starts.

"I AM NOT DONE!" She hisses. When Bruce closes his mouth Selina takes deep breath and glances at Tim briefly before looking back at the man she loves. "Oliver is dead, Bruce, but that doesn't mean the rest of us aren't capable of helping out. Hell, Barbara is handling the Insurgency better than you ever could."

"It's probably because people like her," Tim pipes. Bruce looks away from Selina to look at Tim.

"Stray," He greets. Then he turns back to Selina. "I won't apologize for what I did, who knows what Superman would have done to you in an effort to get me to hand over the super pill. If he was willing to do _this_ to me, there's no telling what his limitations are anymore."

"But you're right," He continues. "Every single one of you is capable of handling yourselves, which is exactly what I need. I need to know I can rely on every single one of you for the time to come. Until my back is healed, taking care of The Regime falls on you all."

"Even when your back is healed," Selina tells him. "The responsibility can still be ours. You don't have to take the burden of Clark because he was your best friend, Bruce. Not when the entire world is at stake."

Bruce grunts, which is his way of saying he doesn't agree but he doesn't want to argue anymore. Silly bat, cats don't give up that easily.

To prove his point, Selina grabs his chin. "Still wanna be stubborn? Fine. Looks like Alfred won't be the only one helping out around here."

Even Tim's surprised by her response, he just thought she was gonna scratch the hell out of him. Bruce shakes his head. "Barbara needs you-"

"She needs a world-class thief," Selina says, pointing at Tim. "And she's got the best one."

If Tim was more modest, he'd be blushing right now, but instead he just grins. "Thanks, beautiful lady."

Bruce sighs. "Alright," He says. "Stray, you should be going. Get Zatanna-"

"No need," Zatanna says, walking into the room. "Zapping Tim back to Gotham?"

"Looks like it," Tim says. He turns to wave goodbye to Alfred and Selina. He shouldn't have expected anything else from Selina. She's been itching to be by Bruce's side since he took her to the hideout in Hawaii. "Keep in touch?"

"Of course, Kitten."

Tim nods before turning to Zatanna, who raises her hands at him. " _Ekat Yarts kcab ot Mahtog!_ "

Just like last time, the travel back to Gotham via magic went by very smoothly. Too bad Zatanna couldn't zap him closer to Oracle's spot, though. From the looks of things he landed somewhere downtown, which inconveniently is on the other side of town from HQ.

He starts walking through the several alleys of Gotham, turning on his comm link and putting it in his ear. "Stray to Oracle."

There's a a brief pause before static response. "Hear you loud and clear, Stray," a filtered voice responds. "How was your trip? I see you came back alone?"

Tim eyes shoot up to the buildings around him, suspiciously looking for the camera he knows he'll never find. "That's super creepy, you know that?"

Tim expected a witty response back but gets nothing. He almost thought he lost signal before she responds. "Stray, there's movement in your area."

Tim made a face. "I mean, it's downtown, I'd be worried if there wasn't movement."

"No, this is different," she warns. "It's a formation closing in on your location."

Tim's hand shoots to his whip as he starts watching the rooftops more closely. He still doesn't see anything out of the ordinary but if he's learned anything in this city, is that it's at it's most dangerous when least expected. "What are their positions?"

"They're getting closer," she reveals.

"Get Wally-"

"He's working a mission out of town," Oracle interrupts. "I'm sending Batwoman and Huntress-"

She's cut off when Tim jumps out of the way from three arrows shoot repeatedly at him. He dodges each and every one but has no time to recover as two figures jump out and try to attack him. One with a hook and the other with two mechanical claws. He takes a kick to the chest before rolling back to his feet, now his whip uncoiled.

"Stray?!" Oracle shouts in the comm link. "They're on their way!"

Tim almost answers, until five more figures show up and completely surround him. "They won't make it," He says. He lashes his whip at the dark figure with the hook. He expected them to use the hook to catch the whip, but he didn't expect the other figure to lash out their own whip. It wraps around his wrist and he falls on his side when they tug him down.

He grunts and takes out his blade, blocking another figures two knives just inches from his face.

"You picked the wrong fucking cat," He grunts, flipping them off over his body. He wishes he was able to get a least one slash on them before another larger man grabs him and slams him into the wall. His sight goes dizzy as the back of his head hits the brick wall and he tries to break free of the other's hold.

"The target is contained," a male voice says. It belongs to the one with the bow in his hands. It's aimed at Tim, same goes for the rifle held by another figure. An eighth figure appears then, the only one without a mask. Tim greets his teeth when he sees her.

"Talia," He hisses. He's never liked her.

"Timothy Drake," She states, sizing him up and down. When her eyes meet his again, she's glaring. "What's happened to Damian?"

Despite his current situation, Tim smirks at the woman in front of him. "Such a wonderful mother you are, Talia. Don't even know you're bitch of son is running with Superman now."

Talia rushes him with her sword but is immediately stopped by the figures around them. The one with the knives is the one that speaks. "The target is to not be harmed."

Tim laughs at that. "Damn, not even in control of your own unit, huh?" He mocks. Now that he knows Ra's wants him alive, which he suspected, he figures he can just play along until he finds an opportunity to bust out. He's thinking about trying to buy time for Huntress and Batwoman when Talia walks over to the larger figure.

"We must hurry," she says. "Silence him."

Shit. Tim knows how ninjas work. When they say 'silence him' they really mean 'knock him the fuck out,' which is exactly what the giant holding him does.

 

.

 

When he comes to, Tim's laying on a bunch of cushions in a giant room. He's been stripped of his suit and changed into expensive robes, his weapons also gone. He's not the only one in the room, Talia and his captors are there as well as Ra's al Ghul himself. There's someone else, a man, watching him, but he leaves the room just as Tim wakes fully. The Dragon's Head seems to be having a passionate conversation with his daughter but the other ninjas are watching his every move, so it's pointless to try and run now.

Instead, Tim stretches out his body and yawns loudly. "What's a guy got to do to get a drink around here?" He asks.

Ra's looks up from his conversation and grins, "Tim Drake, how lovely it is to see you again."

"Can't say the same thing, old man," Tim retorts. A few years ago, back when he was still running around with the Titans as Catlad, Tim caught the attention Ra's al Ghul. Long story short, he was able to figure out Batman was still alive when everyone else thought he was dead. Normally he wouldn't care but Selina was really torn up about it. Anyways, Ra's thought he was worth something then and kidnapped him shortly after. Very similar to how he was stolen now, minus all the extra assassins. He glances at all of them as they watch him with their own weapons, ready to strike on the order. He knows he can avoid most, it's the assassin with the gun he's worried about. He knows Ra's is still watching him, so he turns to the other man. "Who's the posse?"

Ra's grins widely. "The Seven Men of Death," He responds. "They're my most deadly assassins. I didn't want interference from your new friends, so I sent them to pick you up."

"And why would you do that?" Tim asks.

"The world is changing, Timothy," Ra's explains. "Superman and his Regime are trying to start a new world order, and I'm simply trying to do the same."

"Still doesn't explain why you kidnapped me and brought me halfway across the planet"

"Recruitment," He replies. "I require different talents from different kinds of people in this order, Timothy, and you just so happen to be one of them."

Tim rolls his eyes. "This isn't the first time you've tried to recruit me, Ra's."

"Consider this an invitation of reconsideration," He says. "You don't really want to be fighting a losing battle against Superman, do you? Join me, and I promise I'll make you a king among peasants."

So Ra's has been paying more attention than Tim thought. It made him wonder how much he did know. Did he know Batman was out of commission? He needed to weigh out his options. Last time he had to play Ra's game long enough to figure out where Batman had vanished to after fighting Darkseid, but then he had Kon and the other Titans on call to help him escape when the time was right. Now, there were no Titans and his only allies had no idea where he was. He had to play this smart and figure out a way to send a signal to Barbs.

Tim sighs deeply, his face full of grief. "So many of my friends have died," He whispers, but loud enough for Ra's to hear.

"I know, son," He assures. "Join me and we'll avenge their deaths. We'll make Superman pay for the blood he's spilt."

Tim wanted to smirk, but instead he tried his best show rage in his face. "I want him dead," He hisses.

Ra's thinks he's got him, he can tell by the way he holds out his chest as he extends his hand. "That can be arranged."

Tim nods slowly before taking the older man's hand. He scans across the room as Talia and the Seven Men of Death bow their heads slightly.

Whether he liked it or now, he was now a part of the League of Assassins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone so this is part one of the two part story arc featuring the League of Shadows. Now, the next time chapter is finally gonna bring back a character you all have been asking for (although technically he appears in this chapter briefly). Let me know what you think in the comments and thank you for all the support you've blessed me with!


	5. The Red Hood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Tim tries to figure out his escape from the League of Assassins, a mysterious stranger begins to catch his attention.

The rest of the evening is filled with lavish food and dining, Ra's way of celebrating Tim's decision to join the League. He seems to be the only one pleased. On his right, Talia continues to glare at him but he supposes he can't blame her. Recruiting Tim the first time around was tasked to his eldest daughter, and Talia's sister, Nyssa. Well, clearly she failed and it's known by anyone with knowledge of the league that Ra's doesn't take kindly to failures. Tim thought the old man would make an exception for his daughter up until her body was found not long after in a dumpster. If Tim had to take a guess, he'd bet money that it was Talia that had to do the deed.

Tim is granted to sleep in his own chambers, probably because it's underneath Ra's's palace with no chance of escaping. It's fine. Cats are patient creatures and soon enough an opportunity will announce itself. Until then he'll take advantage of the silk sheets he's been supplied.

 

.

 

In the morning he has to wake up for training, since this is the League of Assassins after all. He's escorted outside by a couple of servants and spots a man with a similar build to Bruce in front of the Seven Men of death. He's familiar with this man, he was one of his teachers back when him and Roy infiltrated the H.I.V.E. for the Titans. His name is David Cain.

"Long time, no see, Stray," David comments. He's cleaning one of his guns and is glaring due to the sun in his eyes. "Ready to get started?"

The sound of a door creaking open makes Tim look to see who has joined them, but the second his eyes land the figure has already left again, slamming the door shut this time around.

Tim turns his attention back to Cain. He's suited up in his Stray uniform that Ra's was so generous to return. "And what could you possibly teach me Cain?" He asks. "I've gone through your lessons, I'm not impressed."

David laughs and it's the same laugh he remembered all those years ago. Cain was a ruthless man when it came to training. Nothing was off limits to him, he wanted to break your spirit and leave it in an irreparable state. Tim and Roy had to nurse each other back to health several nights after a 'lesson' from him. There's not many people Tim has truly hated in his life, but David Cain is one of them.

"Always with the witty comments, Stray," He chuckles, and it makes Tim's skin crawl. He straps his gun back in his holster and nods to the seven silent figures beside him. "Why don't you have a little sparring match with one of these guys?"

Tim tilts his head. "One on one?" he asks. David nods, still smiling. Tim grins. He's been wanting to get back at these guys ever since they jumped him back in Gotham. He's a fool to think he can take them all at once, which is why one on one is the perfect scenario. "Let's do it."

Cain puffs out his chest. "Seven! Present yourselves!" He orders. Immediately the seven assassins taking a fighting stance, each demonstrating their own weapons of choice. Cain motions to them as if he were showing off his high school football trophies. Tim thinks high school because, unlike college, high school accomplishments mean nothing. "Take your pick."

It seems Cain is the only one calling the shots in terms of training the assassins, and that's where Tim know's he has the advantage. Back at the H.I.V.E, Tim learned from several of the world's best, or worst depending on how you looked at it. Still, Tim doesn't rush to pick an opponent, even if he's determined to fight them all. He studies them each, one by one.

He starts with the smallest one and, to his surprise, it's a female. She was the one with the whip. Tim dismisses her with a nod to Cain. "She can go. In a battle of whips you know I can win." Cain laughs, but does as Tim says and dismisses the girl. For a group that's supposed to be trained to suppress emotion, there's a lot of anger in her eyes. It's fine, Tim can give her a harsh lesson another day.

Next is the archer and again, Tim turns to Cain. "If he isn't as great as Red Arrow then there's no point in fighting him," He says, almost sounding bored.

Again, Cain laughs. "Oh and he was so looking forward to getting the chance to get reacquainted." Tim arches and eyebrow and Cain motions to take another look. "You don't recognize him?"

Tim takes a closer look at the assassin in front of him and can't believe he didn't recognize him the first time. "Merlyn," He states, then shakes his head. "Now I know there's no point in fighting you." Tim gets to have the satisfaction of watching Merlyn grip his bow tighter, restraining himself from doing more. Merlyn was apart of their class at the H.I.V.E. and, being the only other archer, was Roy's rival when they trained. Only he wasn't much of a rival seeing as Roy beat him in everything. If Tim could say anything positive about the archer, is that he would take any opportunity to gain rank, even if it meant betraying his own. But that's probably not the best compliment.

That leaves five. Tim passes on the big guy with the explosives. For one on one Tim needs more of a challenge, he's brought powerhouses like Bane down after all. He also passes on the man with a hook and the man with two metal claws for hands. They definitely look intimidating but they're most likely nothing without their weapons. Cain makes an amused sound with his throat. "We sure are picky," He mocks. "All that's left is Razorburn and Shellcase, my two best fighters."

Tim looks at the two men. Razorburn twirls his knives while Shellcase holds his gun patiently. Tim points at Shellcase. "Let's dance." They clear away for the two as they put down their weapons. Tim takes a defensive stance, waiting to see what the other can do. With a slight nod from Cain, Shellcase attacks.

He's a lot faster than Tim thought, but Tim's faster. Still he just merely manages to dodge a few hits before needing to flip away to avoid being overwhelmed. He catches the other's fist rears his leg back so he can connect the back of his heel with the man's forehead. Using the momentum, Tim tries to drive his knee into the other's ribs, but the assassin catches it and tosses him like it's nothing. Tim easily lands on his feet, keeping his cool. He goes for another kick, knowing it's the predictable move. Shellcase catches it and moves to slam his elbow into his kneecap when Tim grips his shoulders and leaps up. He wraps his legs around the other's neck and uses his full body to slam him to the ground. Tim gets up fast to deliver four fast punches to his side where his lungs should be, all while squeezing the man's neck with his thighs.

Pretty soon he'll pass out, so Tim turns to Cain and smile. "Tell your boy to give up, he's lost."

Cain shakes his head, giving Tim his own greedy grin. "You know that's not how it works," He taunts. Tim loses all confidence in his face and he hates that Cain has seen it. "Gone soft on me haven't you, Stray? You know the rules."

Tim looks down at the man struggling underneath him. He should've known this wouldn't be like it was in the H.I.V.E, the League has their own rules, their own laws. If he backs out now they'll kill him, that much he's sure of. Shit, they're already thinking of doing it because of his hesitation. Before they can make up their minds, Tim grunts and twists his legs violently, feeling Shellcase's neck snap before his entire body goes limp. Tim shoves him off before getting up on his feet.

"Next time warn someone when they're sparring for their lives," Tim hisses. "Or I'll take you on next."

David narrows his eyes. "You wouldn't last two seconds with me, kid."

"Try me."

Tension fills the air between them but Tim won't back down. If he has to take another life, he'll make sure it's the right one. When he thinks Cain is about to make his move, the door opens again and out comes a tall, muscular man. He's wearing cargo pants and a tank top, which shows off not only his arms, but the scars that cover them. Tim wonders what kind of face belongs to the man that own's such scars, but he can't make it out.

The man's face is covered by a bright red helmet.

Cain smirks and takes his attention away from Tim to look at the guy. "What's with the helmet, Hood?" He calls out. "Shy all of sudden because of our guest? Have you two met-"

"Fuck you, Cain!" The other man grunts, his voice sounding nothing like a human's. His helmet must have the same filter Oracle uses for missions. As he walks by he glances down at Shellcase's body. "The boss know one of his top men is now a corpse?"

"Ra's has been meaning to replace him, anyway," Cain says, walking over to pat this guy on the back. Tim could tell it bothers him. "Looks like you're our new expert marksman, Hood. Welcome to the Seven Men of Death!"

"Gee, what a dream come true," The stranger replies, and not even the filter could hide the sarcasm. "Guess I should celebrate." He walks over to a set of controls and punches in some numbers. Suddenly targets a long distance away begin to appear. The stranger takes out two pistols and looks back at the group. "Alone."

Tim's fine with that and apparently so is Cain because he makes a hand signal to the other assassins before they all take their leave. Tim lingers a bit so he doesn't have to walk with them and steals one last glance at Shellcase's body.

"Don't think too much about it," The other man says, clicking the safety off his guns. "He died quick, which is more than he deserved."

Tim doesn't reply, instead he turns on his heel and heads back to the palace. Several gun shots ring in his ear and just as he's about to head inside he looks back at the stranger with the red helmet. He hit every target dead on the mark.

 

.

 

Tim's glad that he manages not to throw up until he's back in his room. Memories of the H.I.V.E. are flooding in now, of what him and Roy were forced to do. Tim thought he had a handle on it, thought since he didn't become an addict like Roy he was doing good but it's never that easy.

The last time he killed was back when Cicada and Frankie, Wally's girlfriend at the time, kidnapped him and tried to kill him in a sacrificial trap meant for Wally. Wally saved him, with the help of Steph and Batwoman, but he killed Cicada in the process. It was different then than what he did just now. Then, he was on the brink of death and his primal instincts to survive had kicked in. Sure his life might've been on the line back with Shellcase, but Tim could've found another solution. He could've bought more time. God, he sounds like fucking Bruce.

He spends the rest of his day in his room when Cain shows up. He puts on a poker face but knows deep down that the son of a bitch knows exactly what Tim's been dealing with. "Ra's would like to see you."

Tim rolls his eyes but slips on a robe regardless. "Lead the way," He says. They make their way to the Demon Head's chambers. As they enter a hall leading to Ra's's balcony, Talia appears out of another room in nothing but a bed sheet to cover her more private areas. When Tim peaks in the room he sees a naked man sitting with his back towards them. When he notices the scars, Tim realizes its the guy from earlier, the one with the red helmet. He's got a lot more scars across his back and Tim can't help but wonder what kind of hell this guy has went through.

The other man is turning around but just as his face is coming to view, Talia lets down a drape. "You seem rather interested in my guest, Stray," she says.

Tim shrugs his shoulders. "I'm just surprised to see someone with a heart as evil as yours can even enjoy sex," He replies innocently. "And here I thought you would use a good ol' turkey baster."

A snicker can be heard in the other room which causes Talia to glare at him. Well, at least the guy has a sense of humor to make up for his horrible taste in women. Talia's glare turns into a creepy smile as she looks him up and down. "I'm going to enjoy our next encounter, Stray." And with that, Cain decides they've chatted enough and shoves Tim forward.

He finds Ra's looking out into the sunset on his balcony. He walks to his side, but doesn't say anything. They both know Ra's summoned him here, so there's no point in asking.

"I hear this morning's demonstration was quite...eventful," He says, still looking out. "It not often one of my best men is killed in training."

"Guess he wasn't your best," Tim says. "Besides, it was him or me."

Ra's sighs heavily. "I'm afraid you're correct," He says. He motions for Cain to return. "That'll be all, Stray."

Ra's al Ghul referring to Tim by Stray instead of his actual name, something he hasn't done since he decided Tim was worthy of joining the League, is his first clue something is wrong. His second isn't until Cain returns him to his chambers and wishes him good night with a smile just as creepy as Talia's. They both know something is up. Tim realizes suddenly that his talk with Ra's was some kind of test and that whatever it was, Tim ultimately failed.

 

.

 

He's not stupid, he knows they're going to try to kill him. He's not sure if he can make it out, but he's not going down without a fight. He goes to sleep in nothing but his underwear to feign his cluelessness, to let them think he's not aware of what's happening, before he sets his traps.

Like a cat, he quickly wakes up when he hears the slightest step on the marble floor.

_Showtime._

Tim let's out a slight moan as he stretches his body, making sure the muscles in his back move fluidly as he does. He's been pulling this trick since his days as Catlad and it's worked every time. Just when he thinks his invader is distracted, Tim fingers dance around the blade hidden in his pillow and-

"Make a move and you're dead," a heavily filtered voice warns. Tim whips around anyway to see the stranger with the red helmet pointing a gun at him.

Shit. Even if a guy is straight, Tim's waking up in bed act still usually surprises them. Figures the one time it doesn't work is when his life depends on it. Well, at least he tried. "What are you waiting for?" he challenges.

The stranger responds by throwing Tim's catsuit at him. "Hurry up," He orders. "They're coming to kill you."

Tim doesn't know if he trusts this man, but he rolls out of bed to change anyway. He's got a couple packs of powder from Ivy he can use if things get crazy. "Who's they?"

"The Seven," He answers.

"Is this because I killed that other guy?" He asks. He slips his blade into it's place holder and grabs his whip from underneath his bed.

"No," the man answers. "It's because you regret it. Cain reported as much and you basically confirmed it with your little chat with Ra's."

Tim knew he was set up for a trap, but he honestly doesn't know what gave him away. He looks the man up and down. "Why are you helping me?"

The man doesn't answer at first, instead he walks over to the large window and peaks outside. "We need to go."

A loud snap followed by a large thud can be heard just outside his room. Tim smirks, knowing his trap must've got someone. He opens the door to see the large assassin struggling in the net he stole from the League. His smile disappears when the assassin pulls out a grenade and tosses it at him. He's fast, but the stranger is faster. He smacks the grenade back to the assassin and pulls Tim far enough from the explosion. When the door explodes off it's hinges, he turns to Tim. "Time's up! Move!" He orders.

Tim doesn't need to be told twice. He's out the window and running down the ledge of the palace when he turns back to see the other guy running behind him. "What should I call you?" He knows better than to ask for a name, but calling him the stranger with the red helmet is kinda long.

"I'm the Red Hood," He replies, leaping off the ledge and onto a garden path.

Tim does the same, but arches his eyebrow at him. "But you wear a helmet, not a hood."

"So?" Hood spits.

"You do know that name was already used by Joker right?"

"Fuck The Joker!" He hisses. Now that's interesting. They keep running but now Tim's trying to peak at him to see if he recognizes him.

"Are you from Gotham?" He asks. To have a strong hate for the clown doesn't necessarily mean a person's from Gotham, but that's usually the case.

There's a long pause and then, "Never been there," Hood responds. They make it to a clearing where a helicopter is waiting. "Know how to fly one of those?"

"I'm a fast learner," He responds, just as a whip nearly lashes around his ankle. He flips away and takes out his own whip, just as the male assassin with knives rushes him. Hood is also preoccupied, taking on the assassin with the hook and the assassin with the metal claws. He doesn't spare another glance to watch him fight, taking out his own blade to slash the assassin's forearm when he tries to cut Tim himself.

The female appears and attempts to whip him again but Tim flips away, blocking more blows from the male before slamming the top of his head into his face. While he's disoriented, Tim sweeps his leg low and brings the assassin to the ground. Before he has time to think he lashes out his whip and it wraps around the female's neck just as hers tightens around his. They both fight for dominance and Tim curses in his head when he spots the other assassin run at him. Tim braces for the impact of his blade, but Red Hood leaps out and tackles him away. He manages to get the upper hand, quickly snapping the other's neck with his bare hands.

Tim and the female assassin are still struggling to maintain their grips. Tim laughs. "You're good," he chokes out, before twisting the handle on his whip. The girl has no time to react to the thorns that stick out of his whip and puncture her skin, the paralysis causing her to go limp instantly. Tim recoils his whip. "But I'm the best."

He spots two bodies on the ground and realizes it's the other assassins. Tim doesn't know who this guy is, but he's very good at killing. He hears a gun shot and turns around to see him standing over the girl. "We can't leave any witnesses," He says.

"And why not?" He asks.

"Because I'm staying with Ra's after you get the hell out of here," He says, heading to the helicopter.

Tim runs to keep up with him. "What could you possibly want from Ra's al Ghul?" He asks. "Is it because you're banging his daughter."

He sighs before looking at Tim again. "Is it true?" He asks. "Did Superman really kill the Joker?"

"Ok who are you? Take off your helmet!" Tim demands. Red Hood hesitates, which fuels Tim's suspicions. There's no way someone would mention Joker so much and _not_ be from Gotham. People from anywhere else are just too scared, even after the clown's death. "So I do know you!"

"No you don't!" Red Hood hisses. Before Tim can respond, the other male rips off his helmet. Tim's face to face with a very handsome one, with striking blue-green eyes. Honestly, he'd be a lot cuter if he wasn't glaring at Tim, but then again Tim's body is saying otherwise. He tries to take in every detail, to see if there's anything that's familiar, but to his disappointment, Tim doesn't recognize him.

Tim pouts. "Well, nice hair streak," He says, pointing to the bright white hair on the top of his head. He didn't take the guy to make fashion statements but to each their own.

Hood softens his features, "Your turn."

"Huh?"

"Show me your face," He requests.

Tim makes a face. "Why? You've already seen-"

"Just-" Hood interrupts, before closing his eyes and taking a breath. Were they glowing green just then? "Just do it. It's only fair." In that moment Tim feels like he's bargaining with a teenage boy but he removes his hood and goggles anyway. Even though Hood's seen his face, Tim still feels oddly exposed. He's still in his head when Hood reaches over and brushes the scar Rose left on his neck. "What happened there?"

Tim narrows his eyes and moves away. "None of your business."

Hood laughs, and it's actually kinda cute, before putting back his helmet on. "We should get moving," He suggests.

Tim nods and they start making their way to the helicopter, when Tim feels a slight change in the air. He quickly shoves Hood away and into the shadows with one hand and lashes out his whip with the other, snapping the arrow aimed at him away. Tim looks up to see Merlyn perched high up on the tower.

Sudden clapping takes his eyes away from the archer and towards David Cain, who is as smug as ever. "Bravo, Stray. You managed to get the big, bad, Red Hood on your side," He mocks. "Did he tell you his little backstory? It's pretty entertaining, actually, he was mu-"

Red Hood fires multiple bullets at Cain, who dodges them but ultimately shuts up. He wasn't expecting Jason to rush him but soon they're engaged and its the most intense fight Tim's ever seen. He turns around to see that Merlyn has another arrow aimed at him, but he doesn't take his shot. Before he can even question it longer, Tim watches as Merlyn glances at Cain and Hood, before lowering his weapon and walking away. _He would take any opportunity to gain rank_ , guess somethings never change.

With Merlyn out of the picture and Hood gaining the advantage in the fight, it takes nothing for Tim to wrap his thorn whip at Cain's ankles, smiling when the assassin screams and falls to his knees. Hood delivers a final blow straight to the face, knocking out a few teeth.

Hood takes aim at the Cain's head, but Tim walks up. "This ones on me," He says, taking out his blade. He hovers over Cain's body and even though he's paralyzed entirely, he manages to grin up at him with his eyes. When Tim stabs him, he doesn't stop until that smile fades and he's staring at empty blue eyes. He gets up, out of breath. That was for Roy, Jade, and even Merlyn. Their nightmare was finally over.

A hand on Tim's shoulder makes him jump and he turns to see Hood. "You need to go," Hood says. Tim could tell that he's pissed. "I have to go find Merlyn."

Tim shakes his head. "I don't think you need to worry about him," Tim says. "Trust me."

Hood studies his face then nods to the helicopter. Without a goodbye, Tim turns and starts up the aircraft. It isn't until he's up in the air does he look for Hood again. He expected him to be gone, but he's right there watching him. Just before he becomes a little dot in the sand, Hood waves at him.

It doesn't take long for Tim to fly to the nearest populated town where he is able to borrow someones phone and call up Wally. The speedster appears and picks him up in no time (literally) before running straight back to Gotham.

He doesn't know what to think of this new stranger, only that he's sure he hasn't seen the last of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason has finally returned ladies and gentlemen!!! It was a hard decision but I think going with Tim not recognizing Jason is the more logical one. Jason was 14 when he died and now he's 21, add on the major changes he experienced after he came back to life I just don't think anyone would recognize him. But later on it's definitely something Jason will use to his advantage. And if you're wondering why Tim's bed trick didn't work, it's definitely because Jason knows that trick.
> 
> Also, I know I keep mentioning this whole mission Tim had with Roy to take down the H.I.V.E and it's because I really wanted Tim to have had a huge impact when he was on the Titans and it's a story I think I'm going to tell in the future via flashback (including Bumblebee's death, which involves Deathstroke, Rose Wilson, and Terra).
> 
> Please let me know what you all think of this story, I know a lot of you have been dying for Jason to return! All comments are appreciated and I give my thanks for all the support!


	6. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim teams up with the Birds of Prey to help save a meta teenager in captivity.

Even though Tim was only gone for a couple of days, things have seriously changed in Gotham. Superman and Lex Luthor have plugged a whole army of super soldiers into Batman's former territory and have set strict curfews for it's citizens. It'll make things more difficult for the Insurgency to move around and it puts them at the disadvantage. These soldiers are doped up on Luthor's super pill which means they can take on most of the Insurgency pretty easy since the majority of them don't have powers, Dinah and Wally being the exception. Wally says he's close to a breakthrough though so he's been cooped up in his lab ever since he rescued Tim.

On top of that, Commissioner Gordon apparently knows Babs has been Batgirl/Oracle from the very beginning and only made it known now that these super soldiers are taking his city away from him. As for the citizens themselves, the views are practically half in favor of them and half wanting them to go away. Sure they were happy Superman got rid of all the villains that made Gotham their home, but now it seems to be another story when these soldiers are roughing up a bunch of kids for breaking curfew.

Due to the high rise in super soldiers 'protecting' the city, Oracle has put on hold on night patrols so there's a lot of risk of getting caught. Unfortunately for Tim, it means being cooped up in headquarters until Barbs figures out where to send them. So far Gotham is the only city with Superman's army patrolling the streets so Babs has been sending Tim and the others everywhere else on missions. Most of the time she just sends them out to recruit other heroes, which has them coming back empty handed.

"Not that I'm saying we're not enough to take out Superman," Tim says, glancing at Dinah. "But we're definitely not enough." The Insurgency, as it stands, consists of Oracle, himself, Huntress, Batwoman, Catwoman, Black Canary, Impulse, Zatanna, Doctor Fate (technically), Alfred, and Batman. Batman's out of commission, Zatanna and Doctor Fate spend most of their time making sure he isn't discovered by Superman or Raven, and Alfred and Catwoman are stuck taking care of him. That leaves Impulse and Black Canary as the only metas and a bunch of vigilantes with no powers against The League, which is _full_ of members with powers and abilities. Tim brings this up again in one of their endless meetings.

Wally perks up at that. "You're forgetting our most important member!" He accuses. As if on cue Baby Wildebeest comes stumbling in sucking on a giant lollipop Wally gave to him.

Despite Huntress being his absolute favorite human being in the world (he still thinks she's his mom) Baby has really grown on the group. Wally loves him, if it wasn't obvious, and lets the little punk get away with everything. Tim's gotta admit that he's grown fond of the little sucker too. Shoot even Babs has come to like him. Only one who seems to still be bothered by him is Helena, but Tim is starting to think it's just an act because she will literally drop everything to make sure he's OK.

Babs has been observing Baby's development since being here. He's grown even stronger since they found him, able to lift about three times his weight. He's pretty durable too, which calms everyone's fears of him hurting himself when they're not around.

"Speaking of Baby," Babs says, pulling something up on her computer. "I think I might've found that girl who was created by the same cult he was in, Helena."

Helena bolts up at that. "Rosabelle?" she asks. "Where is she?"

Babs shakes her head. "I can't get an exact location on her, but my cameras picked her up in Durango, Mexico," she determines.

"Another recruitment mission?" Dinah asks.

"It could be more than that," Barbara says. She clicks on another file and several pictures pop up. One is of Rosabelle being lead by a well dressed man, another is a magazine cover of the same man, and another is a building with a giant M.W. in the front. "His name is Maxwell Lord. I've been monitoring him for a few weeks. He's either a meta or someone with enough power to make a lot of things happen."

"Is he a problem?" Katherine asks, frowning.

"Can't tell," Barbara responds. "But he's been getting a lot of money in his offshore accounts so I suspect some illegal activity."

"Is Rosabelle involved?" Helena asks.

"I believe so. Which means if Superman gets wind of it, he'll take her down."

Helena gets up from her chair. "So let's get down there," she says. "She's the closest thing Baby has to a relative. We can't allow her to get caught up in this guy's mess once the Regime gets to him."

Tim smiles. This is probably the first time Helena has actually shown concern for Baby.

Barbara nods her head. "Ok," she says. "We'll make it a mission. We can have everyone on deck for this one. Minus, Wally, of course."

"That's totally not fair!" Wally whines.

"We need those pills Wally," Dinah replies. "Now more than ever."

Wally lets out a sigh and slumps in his chair. "Fine." In a gust of wind he's gone, probably back in the lab to get back to work.

Barbara turns to the others. "Suit up. We'll have a window to leave Gotham very soon."

 

.

 

Before Tim takes off with the girls, Wally requested to see him in his lab. When he arrives, all he sees is a continuous blur running around the lab. He stands there for another minute before sticking his foot out into the blur.

"Hey!" Wally shouts, stumbling to stop. He stares wide eyed at Tim as he carefully puts down a bubbling graduated cylinder. "If I dropped that I'd have to start all over, you know!"

"Well it's a good thing you didn't," Tim says, smugly taking a seat. "You rang?"

Wally grins and zips away before returning with a bunch of new gear for Tim's suit. Tim's mouth drops open. He has no idea what to say, the only person that ever helped him with gear was Stephanie.

Wally looks a little sheepish as he places the gear in Tim's lap. "Can't have you disappearing on us again, can we?" He says, not making direct eye contact. Helena mentioned that Wally went crazy searching for Tim when Ra's and his goons kidnapped him, she said he nearly got caught by the Regime but he still wouldn't stop.

Before he can really think about it, Tim jumps out of his seat and wraps his arms around the other male. Wally returns the hug with a squeeze and it suddenly feels so good to be held by him. So right. The hug lasts a little longer than it needed to and they both clear their throats as they separate. "So, um, what did you do?"

Wally's showoff grin returns as he starts picking up each new piece. "I replaced the blades in your boots, they were looking kinda worn. Your goggles can access different types of vision software and your suit is thermal now. Oh and your gloves!" He picks up one glove and presses a button, suddenly releasing the claws that end up sticking to the wall. "Made your claws detachable," He says. He brings the glove closer. "They're also magnetic, so just press this button here and-" he demonstrates, pressing a button that makes the claws zip back in place. "Voila."

"I feel like I'm on an episode of _Pimp My Ride,_ " Tim teases.

"Those guys wish they had my skills," Wally boasts, pretending to pop a collar that isn't there.

Tim rolls his eyes. "I should get going though," He says. "Our window is pretty small this time."

"It's getting smaller every time," Wally notes.

"Well maybe if someone finished making those pills we wouldn't have to worry," Tim mocks.

Wally groans. "Everyone's a critic!" He yells. "Get out before I take back my gear."

"Your gear?" Tim repeats. "It's mine now. You'd have to use excessive force to get these babies back."

Wally arches his brow and suddenly there's something in the air between them. "Don't tempt me."

 

.

 

Tim is still thinking about Wally by the time they make it to Mexico. They've always had a teasing friendship, sometimes to the point of flirting, but he's felt it's all been pretty meaningless. Now, he's not so sure.

As Dinah and Katherine set up a perimeter around Maxwell Lord's building, him and Helena are going undercover in the village where Rosabelle was last seen to see if anyone has seen her. Tim knows Spanish so it's easier for him to ask around while Helena shows off the picture they have of her.

"Alguien la visto?" He asks. Turns out a lot of people here recognize her.

"Eso pantera! Pantha!"

"Pinche put toma todo mi dinero! Nunca pierde!"

"A poco!? Who doesn't know Pantha!" One woman says, laughing as she cuts up some fruit. Tim and Helena give each other a look.

"Know where we can find her?" Helena asks.

The woman makes a face. "She's on in a few hours," she says. She looks around before lowering her voice. "But if you ask me, I'd put money on _Murcielago_." Interesting, so there's a bat out here that's pretty intimidating too.

Tim has the lady show her where Pantha is going to show up before leaving with Helena, fruit bowl in hand of course. He turns on the comm link in his ear. "Oracle?"

"Loud and clear, Stray," she greets. "Anything?"

"We got everything," he says. They've made it to the building, which is heavily crowded by all kinds of people. It looks like a giant backyard that has people screaming and cheering nonstop. "From what it sounds like, Pantha is definitely caught up in Maxwell's illegal schemes. It looks like some type of Fight Club."

"Well if Pantha was created by the same people as Baby she most likely possess the same strength," Oracle says.

"Look," Helena says, pointing out to the crowds. There are people waving signs with PANTHA in big bold letters. "She's like a local celebrity."

As they make their way to the front, a giant pool comes into view. Tim crosses his arms. "Well how bad is an illegal fight club, really?" He asks. "As long as she wins she'll keep making coin."

"I don't think it's that simple," Oracle says. Just then, the lights go out and the crowd goes wild. A center light shines on Maxwell in the middle of the arena, smiling boldly.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to another night of Death Match!" He roars. The crowd roars louder and Tim and Helena both go wide eyed. This isn't an ordinary fight club, it's one where two people fight do the death. Tim gets a heavy feeling in his stomach and realizes that it's not just anyone their putting against each other, they're meta humans.

"Our first match is going to be between a woman who's love for science has given her the extraordinary talents of one of nature's most fiercest killers and a warrior straight from the under water nation, Atlantis! Put your hands together for Orca versus Lagoon Boy!"

Tim and Helena both gasp as they watch a confused Grace Bralin wobble on stage, her killer whale physiology making her much more intimidating than when she was just human. Orca's originally from Gotham, so Tim and Helena recognize her easily. On the other side of the arena, a skinny male covered in green fish scales and gills stumbles on as well, looking just as confused.

"Why would they take part in this?" Helena asks. Tim shrugs. Orca is violent and very set of accomplishing her goals, but this isn't like her. She wouldn't be the type to fight in front of a bunch of spectators. He may not know this Lagoon Boy, but he's positive that being raised in Atlantis gave this kid some common sense as well.

"Fighters!" Maxwell calls out, catching their attention. Then in a low voice, "Tear each other apart."

In seconds, Orca and Lagoon Boy are slamming into each other, Lagoon Boy blowing up like a puffer fish to match Orca's strength. Oracle gasps in his ear. "Maxwell is a meta! He's making them fight with mind control!"

"Let's stop them!" Huntress says, pulling out her crossbow.

"Wait for backup," Oracle pleads. "We don't know how powerful this guy is. Batwoman and Black Canary are on the way!"

"Tell them to hurry!" Tim says, not taking his eyes off the fight. Despite matching her in size, the kid can't keep up with Orca's deadly aggression. Her claws leave a huge gash on his chest, causing him to cry out on fall to his knees. In an instant, Orca sinks her teeth into the poor boy's neck, twisting and thrashing until his body goes limp. The crowd goes mad as Orca starts tearing into his flesh, Tim looks away but then looks back once he hears Orca scream. She's moving away from Lagoon Boy's corpse in terror, her hands shaking.

"What did I do?!?" She screams.

"That's enough Orca," Maxwell says. "You may return to your cell now." The panic in Orca's eyes disappears instantly as she gets up from the ground and leaves the caged arena.

"We need to move, Oracle!" Huntress hisses. The pool is getting drained as Lagoon Boy's body is being dragged out.

"Batwoman and Black Canary are closing in," Oracle says. "If you need to act, go ahead!"

"Finally," Helena exclaims, turning to Tim. "Ready?"

Tim takes out his whip. "Showtime-"

An explosion on the opposite side of the arena rocks both of them off their feet as soldiers start swarming in from all over. And they're not just any soldiers, they're soldiers of the Regime. Maxwell gets up on his feet. "What just-Ugh!" Out of nowhere, Hawkgirl flies straight into him, tackling him out of view. Everyone is in chaos as they run from the soldiers. It isn't until more come out of the cages Orca went in that Tim spots Pantha. She's not alone, she's struggling with a bunch of soldiers along with Man-Bat and Orca. Orca doesn't really put much of a fight, most likely still traumatized from earlier, and Man-Bat gets overwhelmed easily. It's just Pantha now, and even though she's putting up a great fight, she's quickly getting tired.

"Huntress!" Tim yells, motioning to Pantha before running in her direction. Huntress follows his lead, shooting as much crossbows she could load in the process. Tim takes his whip and wraps it around one of the soldiers, bringing him down before kicking away two more.

"Huntress?" Pantha calls out once they've both reached her.

Huntress touches her shoulder. "We're getting you out of here, Rosabelle."

"Stray!" an angry voice calls out. Tim whips around to see Hawkgirl flying towards him.

Tim rolls his eyes and turns to Helena. "Get her out of here," He says. Helena nods and pulls Pantha away. Tim whirls around lashes his whip across Hawkgirl's face. She grunts but then swings her mace heavily into the ground Tim stood at moments before.

He flips away, laughing. "What brings you to Mexico, Hawkgirl?" He asks. "Could've sworn migration season is over."

"Wise mouth," Hawkgirl hisses, preparing to swing again. Black Canary shows up and lets loose her infamous Canary Cry on the lame hawk lady, bringing her down instantly.

"We got to go!" Canary yells. Tim nods his head and follows her out of the arena. It isn't until they're on the outskirts of the village when Batwoman shows up in Batman's jet. When they both hop in, Tim's relieved to see Huntress and Pantha made it too. Batwoman flies off and puts Oracle on the screen.

"Great job everyone," she says. "Although things might get even more complicated now that we technically interfered with the Regime.

"You think Superman will seek us out?" Batwoman asks.

"Too early to tell," she says. "Just get back as soon as you can, and we'll figure it out from there."

Tim sighs and leans against his chair once Oracle disconnects. Wally's going to be disappointed that Tim didn't get a chance to use any of the new gear, but finding Pantha for Baby should cheer him up though. He turns in his seat to look at Dinah. "Thanks for the save back there," He says.

Dinah shakes her head. "I think she genuinely hates you," she says. "Wonder what you did to have her feel that way."

Tim throws up his hands like 'I don't know' before smirking. "I haven't the slightest clue."

"It probably has nothing to do with the fact that you insult her as member of the League every chance you get," Huntress replies, voice full of sarcasm. When Tim turns to glare at her she winks at him. She's been pretty cool ever since they teamed up for the Insurgency.

"I don't know what you mean," He says innocently.

"You constantly mock her for being in the League."

"Is it mocking when I'm genuinely confused as to why she's a member?" He asks. Katherine and Dinah laugh in the front seats, while Rosabelle is just looking all kinds of confused. Tim's sure he'll warm up to her pretty easy, cats have to stick together and everything. They all drop the subject and when the vehicle fills with a comfortable silence, Tim closes his eyes to take a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's an update everyone! Honestly I feel like I need to apologize. When I wrote this chapter originally I didn't bother to check my notes which backfired because I originally featured Wonder Woman leading the Regime (which explains Maxwell Lord's appearance) with an entirely different outcome, but the problem is that Wonder Woman is currently in a coma right now so there's no way this chapter would make sense. I didn't want to scrap it, because I wanted to introduce Pantha, so I tried to save it by adding Hawkgirl and the fight with Orca vs Lagoon Boy. It feels a bit rushed to me so I apologized and promise the other chapters aren't like this. Thank you so much for your continued support, please let me hear your opinions, good or bad!


	7. Two Cats and a Martian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim runs into an old fling who reveals a secret that Batman and the late Martian Manhunter have been hiding for years.

The group make it back to Gotham pretty easily and so far they haven't been confronted by Superman or the Regime. Tim thinks it's because Hawkgirl is too embarrassed to admit she failed yet another mission.

"I doubt that's the reason, Tim," Wally says, rolling his eyes.

"You're right," he says. "They're probably used to her failures by now so she wouldn't have anything to be embarrassed about."

"Stray," Babs warns, but Tim can see she's fighting a smile. "Hawkgirl has helped saved the world plenty of times."

"Well if she's so great how come you never had her join the Birds of Prey?" He asks. "She's a literal bird."

"You know her wings aren't actually attached to her body right, Tim?" Wally asks.

"What?!" Tim is dumbfounded. Everyone else shares a laugh at his expense, including Baby but that's only because he sees everyone else doing it, not because he gets what's happening. Shortly after they returned from Mexico, Rosabelle agreed to let Babs run some tests on her to see what they could learn about Baby. The results didn't answer any questions, mostly because Babs couldn't even tell if Rosabelle was a human or an animal before the Wildebeest Society experimented on her. Rosabelle also revealed that Maxwell was indeed controlling her and the other hybrids. She talked about all the other metas she's had to kill and at night, Tim would hear her screaming from her nightmares across the hall. Huntress suggested not letting her participate in the Insurgency, to which everyone else agreed. Babs was able to contact Jefferson, who was able to get Rosabelle a place to live in peace somewhere in Maine.

"So why haven't the Regime confronted us?" Kate asks. "Clark knows we're with Bruce. If he's still his main priority, he should've brought down the hammer on us by now."

"Probably means we're not his main priority anymore," Canary answers. Everyone looks to Babs for confirmation, who merely turns to her computer and starts typing away.

"The Tower's cam's picked this up a couple of days ago," Babs says. She clicks the video and the footage shows two beams of green light fly towards Earth. Tim, along with everyone in this room, know that green lights in space mean only one thing. Lanterns.

"Although it's possible one of the lights could be Hal Jordan, it's not likely seeing as he was spotted with the Flash holding congress hostage around the time the footage was shot," Babs explains.

"So we're looking at one or two other Lanterns besides Jordan coming to Earth?" Helena asks. "Isn't there a few of them that are from here?"

"Yes," Babs answers pulling up the faces of Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner. Seeing how good he looks in his picture, Tim almost wants it to be Kyle who has returned. "But all of them have been off Earth for at least two years," Babs clarifies. "It's likely one of them has come back, but there's also this."

She presses play on another video, this time a bright yellow light zooms by.

"Yellow Lanterns," Kate breaths. Tim doesn't know much about the Yellow Lanters, he's rarely gone to space, but he does know that they are enemies to the Green Lantern Corps.

"What could this mean?" Dinah asks.

"A lot of things," Babs answers. "The two Lantern Corps. could be raging in a war right now, and Hal could be requesting Superman's aid, which could be bad for us if the Regime gain the Green Lanterns as allies.

"So what you're saying is we should team up with Yellow?" Wally asks.

"Of course not," she replies. "But we have to be extra observant when we leave headquarters. There's not that many people left we can trust."

Tim watches as Dinah and Wally prepare to teleport back to their cities. Wally zips back into civilian clothes quickly, wearing nothing but a tank top and shorts in the cool night. "Don't believe in a jacket?" Tim asks, admiring Wally's revealed toned arms anyways.

Wally laughs. "A ho never gets cold," He blurts out. He pauses for a moment then glares at him. "You can tell me I'm not a ho anytime now."

"Who am I to disagree with such a profound discovering of one's self," Tim says. Wally's glare darkens before he zips away, only to come back later with Tim's favorite ice cream flavor: Hot Fudge Brownie and Cookie Dough mix.

"And here I was about to gift you with the most delicious treasure," Wally exaggerates, taking out a spoon. "Guess I'll have it all to myself."

Tim gasps, his mouth watering at the sight. "You're starting a war you can't finish, Kid," He says. He knows Wally is older than him but he's referring to Kid Flash when he calls him 'kid' because he knows it bothers the other so much.

"You can't start a war for eating something you paid for yourself, brat!" He says.

"Do it and find out," Tim challenges. Just last week Tim glued Wally's shoes to the ground, causing him to face plant the floor. Hard.

After a long stare down, Wally smiles and brings out another spoon. Victory. They sit down on separate chairs and dig in into the dessert. "Faster we eat this, faster I get home," He says. "Iris is making spaghetti."

Tim chews on a big chunk of brownie. "You never told me how she's taking all of this," Tim points out. "With Barry being apart of the Regime and all. Does she even know you're out of retirement?"

"Or course not," Wally answers. "But, of course, Barry does. He told me he'll keep it from her as long as I stay quiet too. Weird right?"

"I mean you're his wife's nephew, Wally."

"I know it's just-" He stops, looking down at his spoon. "I don't know. A part of me wants to believe he'll see how wrong Superman is."

Tim knows he's partially responsible for this. He's the one who told Wally about Barry's guilt over Superman and Wonder Woman crippling a young man in Australia last year. He found out through Bruce, who also feels the scarlet speedster might still come around. Tim's always liked Barry, never as serious as the other adults, so maybe deep down he wants him to come to his senses too.

"So think you might see Kyle again if he comes back?" Wally asks. There's a tone in his voice that Tim can't quite figure out so he just shrugs his shoulders.

"It was sort of a one time thing," He says. "We didn't even exchange numbers. In fact I think he still tried to arrest me."

"That's just mean," Wally says. "You can't just arrest the person who blew you."

"Thank you! Glad to see you still have some principles."

Wally laughs, taking one more spoonful of ice cream before dropping the spoon on the table. "Alright I should go," he says. "If I keep Iris waiting she'll hang me by my toes."

"Bring me extra if you can," Tim requests.

"At a dinner full of speedsters? Doubt it," He says, stepping into the teleporter. "But I'll see what I can do." And with a wink, Tim's favorite speedster is gone.

 

.

 

After a day of doing nothing Tim is bored out if his mind, which isn't hard to be since Babs still isn't letting anyone patrol Gotham with super soldiers running around. It was getting so bad that Katherine and Helena left to Star City to help Dinah patrol. Eventually he decides to do the same, only instead of Star City he goes to Central City so he can bother Wally.

As soon as he teleports into the city Tim heads to Wally's place. He hasn't been there since he was attacked by Wally's ex-girlfriend, who was being mind controlled by a cult leader named Cicada. He shows up in civilian clothes, jogger sweats and a plain T-shirt is the perfect way to go out and about as lazy as possible. When he reaches the front door he knocks, but there's no answer. Wally's car is parked outside so Tim figures he must be sleeping. It only takes a few seconds to unlock the door before he's walking into Wally's place. He should tell the speedster to get a better security system now that he's wanted by the Regime.

He hears someone whine followed by a lot of movement, like a struggle. Well shit, looks like they've already found him. Tim rushes towards Wally's room with one hand reaching into his bag for his clawed glove when he opens the door and jolts. Wally jolts too, and so does the guy bent underneath him. Tim watches in shock as both men scramble to cover up their naked bodies. Usually Tim would be incredibly entertained (him and Kon had walked in on Dick and Kori once) but now he found himself putting on an amused look to cover up the disappointment he's slightly feeling. Crap. Why is he bothered about Wally hooking up with someone else?

"You can leave anytime now, Tim!" Wally yells, wrapping a sheet around his waist.

Tim kinda wants to hit him but luckily he doesn't show it in his face as he smirks. "Why? This is gold content right here."

Wally mutters something under his breath as he rapidly, but not too rapidly, walks over and drags Tim out of the room by his arm. He doesn't let go until they're in his living room. Wally looks at him then at his front door. "Did you break into my house?"

"Are you surprised?" Tim asks. "It's kinda what I do."

"I don't have any cat-shaped rubies for you to rob!"

"Yeah, that would require having taste, Wally," he shoots back. Tim fakes a smirk and crosses his arms. "He was pretty cute. Didn't know you prefer to pitch-"

"Ugh, I'm not talking about this while I'm still naked!" Wally whines. He sits on the armrest of his sofa and Tim takes a second to glance at his naked chest glistening with sweat when the other isn't looking. "Why are you even here?"

Tim shrugs. "Was bored."

"So you decided to come all the way over here?" Wally asks. He doesn't like the look he gives him, like he's just realized something Tim hasn't.

"Well not all of us can bring back random guys to hook up with," Tim defends.

Now Wally is the one smirking. Shit. Did that sound passive aggressive? "Well maybe you should," he says, flexing his arms as he crosses them. "So why are you _here_?"

There's panic filling Tim's chest and he almost wants to scream out loud when he gets a call from Barbara. He turns his back on Wally as he slips on his comm link. "What's up?"

"Tim, I know you're in Central City, but I need you back in Gotham." Barbara is using her Oracle voice so Tim knows it must be serious.

"What's wrong?" he asks. Wally motions he's going back to the room, presumably to check on his guest or to put on some clothes.

"I think Catman's been spotted," she says. "It seems like he's visiting Batman's usual spots. I think he's trying to contact him."

So clearly Thomas isn't aware that Bruce has been gone for months now if he's trying to find him. Come to think of it, Tim hasn't heard of Thomas for over a year now. "You want me to talk to him?"

"I'd ask Helena or Katherine but they're still with Dinah," she explains. And in a quieter voice, "Plus I know you two have some history."

Tim narrows his eyes. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"I see everything in this city, Tim," she says. "Even when I don't want to."

Tim wants to gag. How many times has she seen Bruce and Selina get it on? Oh no. Did she see him hook up with Dick? They were on a roof but they were away from the public eye! Well, clearly not Oracle's. Was she over him? She had to have known he dated Kori, along with his other flings here and there. Did she know about him and Helena?

"Ok," he says, just as Wally shows up again with a pair of basketball shorts. "I'll go talk to him."

When he hangs up he looks up to see Wally watching him expectantly. He wants him to explain who he was talking to. A light bulb turns on in Tim's head and he starts grabbing his things and preparing to go.

"So sorry to interrupt your fun," He says, heading for the door. "I'll be on my way now-"

Wally appears in front of the door in a second. "Whoa! You don't get out of this so easily," he says. "Who were you talking to?"

"Catman's been spotted," Tim says, shrugging his shoulders. He realizes this is his moment to flip the advantage back in his favor. "Oracle doesn't know why he's back in Gotham so I'm just going to go entertain him for a bit."

Wally's eyes widen at that. "Entertain him?" He demands. "What if it's a trap or something? I should come with you!"

"No!" Tim replies. Now it's Tim that's smirking as he watches Wally struggle. "Besides you were just telling me to go have some fun not too long ago. Change your mind?"

Wally glares at him before stepping aside. "Not at all. Go have your fun," He mutters.

Tim makes a triumphant 'hmm' as he walks out. "I plan to!"

"Great!" Wally shouts back. Tim is already crossing his lawn when he hears him scream, "And don't break into my house again!" He slams the door shut and Tim happily makes his way back to the nearest Zeta Beam.

 

.

 

Tim's back in Gotham, carefully searching the streets for Thomas while also avoiding the soldiers patrolling. Babs said he's been spotted in Batman's usual patrol spots, so Tim starts checking there first before checking other places he might also be. He keeps either running empty or almost running into a patrolman, which is definitely much worse.

"Think, Stray," Oracle says in his ear. "There's gotta be someplace obvious we're missing here."

Tim does as he's told and thinks for a second. They were both going for the same loot when they hooked up but Tim doubts he's trying to rob a bank now. He knows he likes lions, but that's about it. When Tim's just trying to get laid he rarely tries to pay attention to details like-

"I know where he is!" He shouts, leaping off the balcony. "He's at the zoo! The lioness there just had cubs!"

"That's oddly sweet," Babs comments.

The Gotham City Zoo isn't too far away and it doesn't take much effort to break in once it's closing time. He grabs a map from the park and makes his way to the lion's exhibit. He didn't expect them to still be there but when he turns the corner, there's two adult lions watching three cubs running around. If Tim remembers correctly, the cubs are about two months old now and full of energy. There's a shadow by the mother and Tim realizes its Thomas checking up on her. Tim assumes he's the one that let them out of their cages as he jumps the fence and into the exhibit. Both lions quickly rise up at Tim's intrusion but Thomas is quick to silence them, patting the mother down with his hands.

"Easy girl," He whispers, finally looking up to smile at Tim. "He's friendly."

Tim arches an eyebrow. "What? You speak to cats now?" He asks.

Thomas laughs. "Something like that," He says. "I lived with a pride of lions for over a year now. We just understand each other." Tim watches as the lioness cuddles up to the other man. Well, that explains why he simply vanished off the face of the planet.

"Why'd you come back?"

"I'm looking for Batman," He says.

"And what's so important that you'd leave the wide open plains of Africa for Batman?" Tim asks.

"No offense, Stray, but I'd rather talk with him," He says.

"Sucks to suck," Tim replies. "Batman's not here, so you have me if you need to confide in someone now."

"You?" Thomas asks, unbelievably. When Tim nods, Thomas shakes his head. "The world really is changing." It's good to know that being with a bunch of big cats hasn't left him delusional to what's happening everywhere else. Then again, Africa was most definitely hit by Kalibak's invasion like every other country in the world, so it's hard to not notice any change.

Tim's getting bored. As much as he hinted to Wally that he was planning on hooking up with Thomas, that isn't the case. Thomas's personality doesn't necessarily turn Tim on as much as seeing him naked does, and even that has seemed to have lost its affect as Thomas stands shirtless in front of him. "Is there something you want to talk about, Catman?"

"I've met someone who is searching for answers," He says. "Answers I thought only The Bat could answer."

"Well I never officially finished school but let me take a crack at it," He says.

Catman nods. "Very well. Although it's not that type of answer," He says. He lifts his head and whistles into the night sky. Tim looks in the direction of the whistle and tenses when he sees a cloaked figure materialize through the building in front of him. They walk with uncertainty as they approach, causing Tim to wonder if they're a threat.

"I am no threat to you, Timothy Drake," a girl's voice answers. The new arrival removes their hood revealing a girl with bright orange hair and green skin. "My name is M'gann. I am a Martian in search for my uncle, J'onn."

Tim looks down at the floor when he hears J'onn's name. He thinks back to Selina revealing his death at the hands of Superman. How the hero apparently burned him alive with his heat vis-

"No!" M'gann cries, covering her mouth as tears fall down her face. "He can't be!" Tim looks at her with confusion and then to Thomas before he thinks. Wait. This girl knew his name before he met her and just as he remembered Martian Manhunter's fate, she cried out.

"You read my mind," He figures out, although he's not mad. If anything he feels bad for thinking about her uncle's demise so loudly before he could tell her what happened in a more civilized manner.

M'gann is still sobbing. "I'm so sorry," she whines. "I just needed to know what happened to my uncle. I hadn't seen him in so long."

"The girl found me and saw in my head that I knew Batman," Catman explains.

Tim keeps his eyes on her, although now there's more sympathy. "Why were you in Africa?"

"It's where he kept me hidden," she sobs, hugging herself. "After I landed. He said Batman was the only one who knew about me."

Tim nodded. So J'onn and Bruce decided to keep her a secret, but why? He presses his comm link. "You hearing all of this, Oracle?" He asks.

"Every word," Oracle says. "Does she have anywhere to go?"

"No," M'gann answers. Tim gives her a look.

"She can stay with us," Oracle says. "Superman could see her as a threat if he discovers her."

"Got it," He says. He doesn't bother repeating what she just said because he knows the girl already read his mind. "But no more reading minds without permission," He warns. "Seriously, that shit is extremely invasive to a person's privacy!"

"Yes, of course," she agrees, nodding eagerly.

Tim sighs. She's just a kid, which is ridiculous to think because Tim's just nineteen but she, unlike him, still has her innocence. He almost wants to put her back in hiding, keep her away from all of this like they did with Rosabelle and Virgil, but Tim knows she's better suited with them. He turns to Thomas.

"And what about you?" He asks.

The other man shrugs. "My job's done," He says, picking up a cub as it runs by. "I have a pride to get back to."

Tim doesn't even want to imagine the type of voyage going back to Africa is going to be, especially after just coming from there, but who is he to judge what's important to the other man. He's gotta admit that Thomas seems different since they last saw each other. He seems more...enlightened somehow. Sure it's not all that attractive, but it works for him. It truly does.

After Catman and M'gann say their goodbyes, Tim and the martian go their separate ways. He's beginning to think about how difficult it's gonna be to sneak around with a green alien when M'gann suddenly morphs into a human girl with pale skin.

Tim glares at her. "Did you read my mind again?"

"I didn't!" she defends. "I do this everywhere I go, otherwise I stick out like a sore thumb. I even go by Megan in this form."

"Alright," he says. He starts climbing up roofs when Megan simply starts to fly next to him. He wants to be annoyed, but he'd do it too if he could fly.

"She'll need a name if we decide to put her on patrol," Oracle says.

Tim turns to M'gann. "Any ideas for a superhero name?" He asks.

M'gann beams at him. "Oh, Miss Martian!"

Tim makes a pleased sound. "A little on the nose but I like it!" He declares, grinning at her. "Welcome to the Resistance, Miss Martian!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when I first thought of this chapter, I did sort of intend to have Tim and Catman hook up but this was also before I decided to start something between Tim and Wally, so I ended up changing it. Miss Martian is one of my favorite characters from Young Justice so I wanted to include her as one of the featured Teen Titans. As always please feel free to leave behind some comments on what you think about the chapter, I seriously love hearing back from all you. See you with the next update!


	8. Gotham's Finest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Insurgency gains new allies from the GCPD and the Green Lantern Corps, Tim talks to Batman about Red Hood, and reconnects with Wally.

Miss Martian is now officially staying at headquarters. Oracle thinks she'll be very useful, she has all the powers of Martian Manhunter and then some. It's nice having another meta on their side, Black Canary and Wally alone just weren't going to cut it. Sure, there was Doctor Fate and Zatanna, but so far they've remained neutral outside of keeping Bruce safe from Superman.

News of M'gann's arrival is shortly lived, however, when Wally announces he's finished replicating Lex Luthor's super pill all the way up to the tiniest particle. It's Batwoman who volunteers to try it and when Huntress's arrow breaks off her face, the Resistance knows they finally have a way to level the playing field. Tim can't wait. There's so many 'heroes' in the Regime that Tim wants to hurt. Cyborg and Raven, for even thinking about working with Superman after what happened to the Titans. Wonder Woman, because she alone could've stopped Superman from going this far but chose to aid him more than ever before. Damian, because that little shit killed Dick. And, of course, Superman.

There's still one problem. Now that Superman and Lex Luthor were pumping out more and more super soldiers every week, they were greatly outnumbered. The solution is an obvious one; James Gordon and the GCPD. Oracle had brought her father, Renee Montoya, and a severely beaten Harvey Bullock to the next Resistance meeting, explaining everything we've gained so far.

"I can gather my men in a meeting," Gordon says, after seeing Katherine demonstrate the pill's effects. "It's time to take back Gotham from these crooks."

Barbara nods her head before turning to the other two officers. "What about you two? Are you in?"

Bullock scoffs. "I took an oath to protect this city," He declares. "I intend to keep it."

Montoya walks over to Katherine and slips her hand in hers. "When I said 'I do' I knew there would come a day when we would have to fight side by side," she says. Then, with her back straight, she takes a breath. "I'm in."

With everyone getting ready for the meeting, no one is prepared for the bombshell Dinah would drop.

"Guy Gardner and the Green Lanterns want to help," she reveals. Even Barbara is blown away by the news. They all thought with Hal Jordan still working with Superman, the Lanterns would be on The Regime's side. Now they could potentially have an intergalactic police force helping them fight off Superman. It's clear that the moment to strike is drawing nearer and nearer, now what they need to do is come up with a plan.

Dinah spares a glance at Tim before she speaks again. "Guy says Kyle Rayner is missing," she reveals. "He fears he could be dead."

Tim wants to object because, damn, how many people know about him giving Kyle a blow job? It also doesn't mean he cares for the boy, although it is sad to hear about his fate. He's become another hero added to the list of casualties in Superman's pursuit of absolute control.

He spares a glance at Wally, who's been frowning this whole time. Him and Tim are not really talking ever since the whole Catman incident, apparently Wally can be really sensitive, which only makes his mood worse when Oracle elects Tim to be the one to break the bad news.

"What do you mean I can't come to the meeting?" Wally demands, referring to the meeting with the GCPD. "I'm the one who recreated the pills, I should get to be there, not you!"

Tim rolls his eyes. The fact that he's going is probably the only reason the speedster is upset. "It's not just you, Oracle's keeping M'gann and Baby from the meeting too."

"Baby is a literal baby, he doesn't count!" Wally argues. "And why can't me and M'gann go?"

"Because you're both metas," Tim reveals. "GCPD don't really trust metas."

"Black Canary's going!"

"Black Canary spent a lot of time in Gotham before she met Oliver," Tim explains. "She's practically one of us."

"Oh," Wally snaps. "So this is a Gotham thing?"

"Well, yeah, Gotham is the city we're trying to take back after all."

Wally huffs out air and Tim knows he has no fight in him. "Whatever," he says, before he speeds off. Tim lets out a sigh. Wally easily pouts more than anyone he's ever met, and Damian is included in this list of people. He thinks of convincing Oracle to let M'gann attend the meeting out of spite when Zatanna poofs in front of him.

"Stop doing that!" Tim cries, nearly having a heart attack.

Zatanna snickers. "Sorry," she says, but Tim can tell she doesn't mean it. "Ready to go get Catwoman?"

"Fine," Tim mumbles. Zatanna mumbles her backwards incantation and soon they're both in the Tower of Fate. Oracle wants every able body from Gotham to attend this meeting, hence Tim picking up Selina. Although it'd be easier to just have Zatanna zap her back to Gotham, Bruce wanted to speak with Tim.

"Master Timothy?" Alfred calls out, looking over his shoulder.

"Alfred!" Tim beams, hugging the butler. When they separate, they make their way over to the room Bruce is recovering in. "How goes it? Must be boring being stuck here all this time."

"The Tower of Fate is actually quite bigger than the Wayne Manor," Alfred explains. "It seems sorcerers with magic helmets are just as messy as billionaire vigilante's, I'm afraid, so I've been tidying up here and there on my spare time."

Tim shakes his head in disbelief. "Alfred do you even get paid?"

Alfred lets out a chuckle but doesn't answer as they enter the room. Selina is currently hunched over Bruce, spoon feeding him food, and god does Tim wish he had a camera. He'll just have to sketch Bruce's frown upon being discovered with gravy on his lip in his mind forever.

"Kitten," Selina greets, her smile so easy going that Tim can't help but mimic it. Oh how he's missed the woman that raised him, even if it's only been a couple weeks. She gathers the food on a tray and starts making her way out. "I'll let you two talk. If you need me I'll be with Zatanna and Alfred."

Tim waits until she leaves before walking around the room. "So how often do you see Doctor Fate?" He asks. "Something tells me he doesn't check up on you as much as an actual doctor should."

"Doctor Fate has other things to worry about," Bruce grunts. "We need to talk."

Tim takes that as permission to sit down. He waits for Bruce to start talking, only to realize that the other man is doing the same thing.

"I need a status report on what's happening back on Earth," Bruce finally says. "Oracle gave me hers but she can't get everything I need from her spot on the sidelines. It seems you've been heavily involved in the most important events recently."

Tim lets out a sigh. "Gosh, where to start," he says. Like hell he'll write an actual report. Unlike Barbara, Tim isn't part of the Batfamily and therefore isn't required to do anything of the sort. He'll have a chat though. "I'm assuming you heard about the Lanterns."

"I was hoping to keep them out of it,"Bruce admits. "But having them on our side is the better outcome."

"Yeah, minus Hal," He says. And Kyle, but he keeps that too himself.

"I've been told you were kidnapped by Ra's al Ghul," Bruce says.

"Right!" Tim shouts, remembering questions he had put on the back burner of his mind to ask Bruce later. "Ra's is planning something but I couldn't stay long enough to figure out what. Also, do you happen to know anyone with a serious hate for Joker?"

Bruce makes a face. "I'd save time telling you everyone who _doesn't_ hate him," He reveals. "Why?"

"There was a guy," Tim explains, remembering the assassin that helped him escape. "He was working for Ra's but when the bastard put the hit out on me, he helped me escape. He calls himself the Red Hood."

Bruce perks up at that. "An old alias of the Joker."

"Right," Tim says. "And the guy hated him. I asked if he was from Gotham but he denied it."

"He could've lied."

"Oh really?" Tim asks, voice full of sarcasm.

"Did you recognize him?"

Tim sighs. "No. I thought I would but I didn't."

Bruce grunts. "I'll have Barbara look into it if she has time," he says. Tim knows that means Barbara will not be looking into then. They've just completed Superman's super pill and still have to come up with a plan with the Green Lanterns and the GCPD. The mystery of the Red Hood will just have to wait.

"You also should've told someone about M'gann," Tim points out.

"It was J'onn's decision," Bruce says. "He's never quite warmed up to humans. He didn't want to put her at risk."

Martian Manhunter had a point, especially with his death among those who have fallen.

"We're taking care of her," Tim assures. "But we should get going soon. Oracle will be expecting us."

Bruce nods his head. "Good," He says, firmly. As Tim walks out of the room, Bruce clears his throat.

"Be careful, Tim."

 

.

 

Once Zatanna magically zaps Tim and Selina back to Gotham, Babs sends them straight to the warehouse where James Gordon is holding a secret rally with the rest of the GCPD. When they arrive, the other members of the Birds of Prey are already there, as well as Bullock and Montoya.

Gordon is hearing out the other police men and women, apparently another protest in downtown went wrong once the super soldiers showed up. Gordon is using this as an example as to why they should be fighting back, but the others are scared. They all knew what happened to Bullock and they fear having the same fate happen to them.

Just to his left, Black Canary cocks her head to the side, then reaches up to press the comm link in her ear. Tim could tell by her face that something's wrong.

Some of the officers aren't too excited for putting their lives on the line, especially when they'd have to do it for free. Selina steps up. "Money is not an issue," she tries, but she's quickly cut off. Tim can tell the GCPD can't stand looking at the pair of them. How many times have they each escaped custody from these very officers? Too often to count.

While Montoya and Huntress try to call down the situation, Tim steps next to Gordon. Montoya doesn't have as much weight in her words as Gordon would and even though Huntress fights bad guys for a living, there's plenty of cops here that don't like vigilantes as much as cat thieves.

"Stop stalling," Tim whispers. "If you don't show them now, we'll lose them."

To his surprise, Gordon nods his head and steps forward. "I'm offering you a chance to stand up for what's right again," he says. "I'm offering you a chance to be police."

Much like Superman had before he went crazy, Gordon's voice is full of authority. All of the cops in the building hush down to listen to him. "How?" One asks. "How are we supposed to do our job with _them_ in the city?"

Gordon motions to Batwoman, who takes out one of Wally's pills. "With this," she says, handing it over to Gordon.

Gordon raises the pill up so everyone can watch it, before consuming it himself. "If you agree to join the resistance, this will be your new badge."

"What is it?" Another cop asks.

Gordon doesn't answer. Instead, Bullock takes out his gun and fires one bullet straight into his Gordon's skull. Despite being the one suggesting it, Tim still flinches at the sound. The first time he saw the pill in action, Damian had nearly crushed Alfred after knocking both Tim and Bruce on their asses. Now, as he watches the destroyed bullet fall to the ground and an unharmed Gordon still standing, Tim finally feels like they have a chance. A real chance at stopping Superman.

"This," Gordon says. "This is the game changer."

 

.

 

After the meeting, Tim met up with M'gann to help him track down Wally. It isn't hard, Wally is the only other person besides Tim that's constantly on the look out for food. He finds the speedster at a diner Tim and Jason used to eat at when they were younger. Back then Jason preferred booths because he thought Tim constantly spinning on a the bar stools was annoying, but now Tim holds back a laugh as he spots a grown-up Wally at the bar doing the exact same thing.

Wally is halfway through one of his four chili dogs when Tim sits next to him. The redhead tries to glare at him, but all it does is make him look silly with chili all over his mouth. "How was your exclusive meeting?"

"Pretty chill," Tim says, picking up a menu he's already familiar with. Luckily the diner's practically empty. "Your pills were a huge hit."

He knew that would get Wally's interest, who perks up. "They were?"

"Yup," he says, with a nod. "But there's more."

Wally frowns. "What? Did Gordon pass out from the effects or something?"

"No," Tim says, losing his teasing tone. After the meeting, Black Canary informed everyone that it was Guy Gardner who called her. "We're not the only ones with Lanterns on our side."

Wally still looks confused. "What? You mean Hal?"

Tim shakes his head. "Sinestro."

Wally gasps. "So Oracle's footage was right. A Yellow Lantern is working for Superman."

"Not just one, according to Guy."

"The entire Corps?!"

"Will you shut up?" Tim warns, glancing around the diner to make sure no one heard. "Yes. Apparently some of the Green Lanterns showed up to arrest Superman but then Sinestro and his lanterns showed up and helped take them down."

"Shit," Wally hisses. "So is Guy going to get back up?"

"Yeah, but we shouldn't be expecting him for awhile," Tim reveals.

Wally arches an eyebrow. "How long is 'awhile'?" He asks.

"Babs is hoping we at least get a year-"

"A year?!" Wally repeats. "Tim, by that time Superman could have his nazi soldiers in every major city in the country. Why would she want to wait that long?"

"Because one of the only two metas we have is pregnant," Tim says. "Would you feel comfortable fighting next to Canary when she's the size of a beluga whale?"

"Then we don't have her fight," Wally reasons, but there's no heart in it. They both know, along with the rest of the Resistance, that Canary is going to be in this whether they like it or not. Superman took Oliver away from her and she wants to return the favor.

"Besides, Katherine and Helena are gonna need time to train Gordon's men," Tim explains. "Plus Babs wants to send us out on a side mission or two, maybe even recruit a few more heroes."

Wally sighs. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Wally looks at him then and Tim tries to ignore the fluttering in his stomach as the other bites his lip. "Are we cool?"

Part of him, his most stubborn part, wants to deny him the reassurance just for the fun of it. But he misses how easy it was to be around the other male, an ease he hasn't had with anyone since Steph died. So instead of going the usual route and possibly having Wally get even more upset, Tim just shrugs his shoulders. "Buy me a milkshake and we will be."

Wally lets out another sigh, this time out of relief as he grabs the menu from Tim's hands. "I'll buy you two if that's the case."

Tim rolls his eyes but smiles nudging the other male with his elbow. They both laugh before falling into a comfortable silence. Whatever the future holds with the Resistance and the Green Lanterns, Tim's glad that he at least gets to go through it with the speedster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay! Summers can be a little crazy with my job haha this chapter is more or less setting up the conclusion of the story. For anyone missing Red Hood, get ready for the next chapter!


	9. A Siren In Distress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim's conflicted when Ra's al Ghul sends Red Hood, the assassin that saved his life, after his favorite aunt, Poison Ivy.

While most of the Insurgency are feeling better about their odds against the Regime now that the Green Lanterns are fighting on their side, they don't let it slow down their momentum. Babs doesn't like the fact that Superman is willingly to work with Sinestro and the Yellow Lanterns and wants to be ready for anything (she definitely trained with Batman, that's for sure).

The Birds of Prey are in charge of training the GCPD. Since the soldiers on the the super pill were just civilians loyal to Superman, it shouldn't be too much trouble to take them down, but they all had to think about the members of the Regime as well. Just because they now had the strength of Superman, doesn't mean they could just step into the ring with Wonder Woman and live to tell the tale. All three ladies were mostly non-meta yet were each known as the best of the best when it came to close combat.

Tim isn't bad himself, having his own training with the H.I.V.E. plus Batwoman last year to rely on and now he gets to resume training with Katherine, while also getting some pointers from Dinah as well.

"Do you think they'll stand a chance against the Regime? Even with all the training?" Wally asks after finishing his own unique training circuit, wiping his face with a towel.

Tim continues to stretch his limbs as he spares the other a glance. "They don't have to be," He says. "It's us that has to takes them down."

Despite the serious topic, Wally grins. "Who are you calling dibs on?"

"I wanna say Wonder Woman, but Captain Atom made sure he took care of her before he bit the dust. So probably Damian, although I don't need a super pill to take him down."

Wally arches his eyebrow. "Right."

Tim rolls his eyes, regretting ever telling the speedster about the night Damian returned to the manor and easily took on Batman, Alfred, and himself. "What about you?" He asks, wanting to turn the tables. "Gonna be able to take out your mentor?"

Wally sighs. "I guess I'm the only one who can, huh?"

"It's very poetic that way," Tim points out, giving him a smile to show he's only teasing. The door to the training room opens and Tim and Wally turn to see M'gann walking towards them. "What's up, Miss Martian?"

"Black Canary returned from Star City with a very strange woman," she says. Tim and Wally exchange glances then follow her to the main room in HQ. Before they even get to the end of the hall, they hear voices arguing. Wally perks up and is gone before Tim can finish blinking. He's back by the time Tim realizes he left.

"You are going to flip!" He says, practically bouncing off the walls.

This alone makes Tim run the rest of the way to the room, slipping inside just as Barbara groans. She takes off her glasses and pinches the bridge of her nose. "You shouldn't have brought her here, Dinah."

"Oliver would want her to help," Dinah defends. Tim finally looks at the familiar face next to Black Canary just as she spots him.

"Hiya, Timmy-Cat!" Harley Quinn beams. She stands next to Dinah, who looks reluctant to bring her but isn't backing down.

"Hey, Auntie Harley," Tim mumbles. No one in the room matches Harley's excitement, not even Wally.

"She's not welcomed here," Katherine hisses.

"Why?" Selina asks from across the room. "Because she's a criminal?" Her mask is off so Tim can get a good look at the sassy expression on her face, one that's usually reserved for Bruce. Guess that look isn't limited to gender, the target just needs to be a bat.

"Because she's the reason we're all in this mess!" Huntress shouts. At her feet, Baby jumps at the sudden anger in her voice. He never likes seeing her upset. Helena notices this and tries to call down, although Tim can tell she's just more irritated.

"No one forced Superman to become a dictator," Dinah argues. "He is responsible for his own actions."

"And she needs to be responsible for hers," Katherine argues back. "Millions of people died because of Harley. We can't just ignore that because Superman killed Oliver."

"He didn't just kill Ollie!" Harley cries, using Oliver's nickname as if the two were pals. "He took away my puddin'!"

"Good riddance," Helena mumbles.

"Enough," Babs says calmly. She puts her glasses back on and looks at the group. "I'll talk to Bruce. Whatever he decides is what we'll do. In the meantime, Harley can stay here."

And so it's down. Dinah and Selina look pleased with the verdict, but Helena and Katherine not so much. Obviously Tim is happy to see her and Wally is just giddy from all the drama after days of boredom. Good thing Gordon or the other Gotham police aren't here or else they'd probably have to give Harley a bullet proof vest. After Metropolis, there's just no where she could go where she wouldn't be hated. Tim knew she wouldn't have cared when Joker was around, but now that he's dead Tim can sense something has changed in Harley, something for the better. That alone is enough for him to give her another chance.

Selina and Dinah take Harley to find a spare room while everyone else takes their leave as well. M'gann comes up next to him. "That lady's mind is a scary place."

Tim laughs at this. "Serves you right for going through people's heads without permission."

 

.

 

Later that week Batman decides that as a favor to Oliver, Harley will be allowed to join the Resistance. If and when they defeat Superman, however, she will be tried for her part in the destruction of Metropolis. Katherine and Helena weren't too happy with the decision, but didn't argue against it. Once given the all clear, Babs started catching Harley up on everything that's happened.

Surprisingly, Harley already knew about Superman's super pills. Apparently Superman had hired the alien bounty hunter, Lobo, to track and kill Harley but she stole the pills from him and kicked his ass. Tim would never have believed it if it weren't for Canary backing her up.

"When Bruce called that meeting, Oliver and I were planning on quitting the Resistance," she reveals. "It wasn't until Bruce revealed Superman's plan for the pills and us remembering what Harley could do on them, that we realized the danger of they possessed."

"Eh," Harley shrugs. "I thought they were pretty neat."

After Harley's caught up, she starts working with the resistance. She's mainly with Dinah, who Batman has assigned to keep tabs on her, but she works with Tim and Selina a lot too. Her and Wally hit it off fine while M'gann actively tries to avoid her. To Helena's disappointment, Baby loves Harley. She's the only one who thinks it's fun when he throws her across the room. After a couple more weeks of getting used to her, Babs calls her up one day, along with Tim and Selina.

"What's going on, Barbara?" Selina asks.

"League of Assassins," Barbara answers, sparing a glance at Tim. "Bruce told me to keep an eye out on Ra's, who's been inactive up until now."

"Who is this guy again?" Harley asks. "That's the baby bat's grandpa right?"

"He's also the leader of the deadliest organization of assassins in the world," Babs answers.

"Well, geez, how many organizations of assassins are there?"

Tim ignores his pseudo-aunt. "What's he up to?"

Barbara looks at all three of them before sighing. "He's taken Ivy."

"Pamela?" Selina breaths.

"RED?!?" Harley screams.

Tim doesn't believe what he's heard. "How was he even able to take her?" He demands. It doesn't matter if Ra's sent his best assassins after her, they'd be nothing against her plants.

Babs starts typing on her keyboard and soon every screen around her turns on and displays the attack on Ivy's hideout in New York. Sure enough, a lot of the assassins don't stand a chance as Ivy's carnivorous vines begin to feed on them, but there's a small cluster who manages to burn the weeds away, clearing a path to where Ivy waits for them. Leading the group is the assassin who saved Tim's life, the Red Hood. Watching him in action again reminds Tim of when they fought for their lives back at Assassin's base. He's raw but also calculated. What's even more surprising is when Ivy finally lets free the toxins from her spores, he doesn't drop. Now only two people are immune to Ivy's poisons, as well as any other poison, and that's him and Harley. Tim's beginning to wonder if this Hood guy is a meta before he notices the breathalyzer attached to his mask.

"He knew every trick Ivy was going to throw at him," Barbara explains. "He even had a mask similar to Batman's to deal with her toxins."

"Is this that Red Hood guy you were talking about, Kitten?" Selina asks.

"Red Hood?!" Harley yells. "Can't this phony come up wit somethin' original instead of ripping off my poor puddin'? It's called respect for the dead!"

Tim watches as Red Hood finally takes down Ivy, throwing her body over his shoulders as he makes his exit.

Harley punches her hand with her fist. "Who does this guy think he is snatching Red like that, huh?"

"Where did he take her, Barbara?" Catwoman asks, voice full of concern.

"Back to their base," she answers. "It seems they're holding her there but I can't figure out for what."

Tim glares at the screen. It doesn't matter if this man helped him escape from Ra's before, seeing him handle Ivy that way makes him want to dig his claws straight down the other's face. When Tim glances at Selina and Harley, he can tell they want to do the same.

"Let's pay Ra's a visit then," Tim says, his pseudo-mother and aunt nodding in agreement.

"Wait," Barbara says, pulling out a box containing three of Wally's super pills. "Take these just in case."

 

.

 

"What's taking so long?" Harley whines. "Lets bash some heads in already!"

"We have to find Ivy first, Harleen," Selina explains, not bothering to look away from her binoculars as she scolds the other. "Batman said Al Ghul could possibly try to kill her before ever letting us break in and take her. We need to move smart."

"I'm smart!" She defends. "I went to college!"

Tim nods his head. "Well that's definitely more than I could say." Superman tried to get a tutoring program started for the Titans when Tim was still apart of the team but it didn't really stick after he kept ditching with Kon and Roy and then later on with Garfield.

He uses his finger to gently push Selina's binoculars over to a giant window in Ra's palace. "That's where we'll come in from. Once inside I'll distract everyone while you two break out Ivy."

Selina sighs. "Are you sure we just can't leave Harley as the distraction?"

"Positive," Tim says, smiling at Selina's disappointment. Harley doesn't really understand the concept of being quiet so it would make sense for her to be the decoy, but it wouldn't make sense as to why she's even in the palace at all. Tim makes more sense, it'll come off as him returning to seek revenge for when these assholes tried to kill him weeks ago.

Tim says his goodbyes and quickly leaps into action, climbing up the walls of the palace, with Catwoman and Harley Quinn on his tail. They quickly dispose of two guards on watch before entering the palace. Once inside, Harley and Selina go their own way while Tim makes his way to the main chambers, where he knows Ra's will be hiding. He creeps into the room and keeps to the shadows, an easy thing to do when Ra's seems to be distracted. He's sitting on a throne-like chair in the middle of the chamber with Red Hood, Merlin, and Talia all looking up at him.

"Mr. Hood, I assume the capture of Miss Ivy was a success based on the intoxicating smells coming from the cells," Ra's begins. "How many casualties?"

"You gave me fifteen men, I came back with seven," Jason answers. "That's two more than I said I would."

"Indeed." Ra's glances from the man in the helmet to his daughter. Talia nods her head before making a signal with her fist. Tim presses himself deeper into the corner of the wall he's hiding in when suddenly numerous ninja appear and surround the group. It isn't until Merlin takes an arrow and aims it at Red Hood that he understands what's happening.

"You're making a mistake Ra's," Red Hood warns. Despite the voice filter, Tim can almost hear the venom in his voice.

"No, Mr. Hood. I believe it is you who has made the mistake," Ra's says. "See, Merlin has come forward to confess your part in Stray's escape not too long ago, along with the murder of some of my highest ranked assassins. I do not tolerate disloyalty."

Talia takes out her sword and brings it to Red Hood's neck. "Was it worth throwing it all away to go down memory lane?"

Red Hood doesn't answer her. Instead he just looks up at Ra's. "Kill me now and you won't be able to stop your new intruders from rescuing Ivy."

Tim freezes in his spot while Talia and Merlin now have faces of uncertainty. Ra's narrows his eyes but makes the signal for them to back off. "Proceed"

Red Hood takes out his gun and points it directly at Tim in his hiding spot. "Come on out, kitty kitty," He says. Tim wants to smirk at the thought of this guy thinking he has the upper hand but instead curses and heads towards the clearing in the room. As he walks, he quickly swallows one of the super pills.

When Ra's al Ghul looks at him, he smiles. "Why, I must say it is a surprise to see you here, Stray. But tell me, Hood, why would this cat thief have any reason to rescue our prisoner?"

"Him and Ivy go way back," Hood reveals. Tim hides the shock in his face. He didn't think the relationship him and Ivy had was well known, still he doesn't let his face say as much. "And if he's here then that means Catwoman and Harley Quinn can't be too far behind."

Ok, what the fuck? This guy is impressive when it comes to getting intel.

"We wouldn't have to worry about this if you didn't betray the assassins in the first place!" Merlin spits, raising his arrow again. 

"Let me kill Harley Quinn," Red Hood proposes. "And I'll mend that mistake as well." He glances at Tim, although he can't see his face from behind the helmet. This guy is literally saying he'll kill Tim after he kills Harley. And here he thought they bonded.

"No need," Talia hisses from behind Tim. He feels the sharp steel of her blade run across his skin and smiles when it breaks off. Everyone in the room, including Hood, seem shocked by this as Tim turns around to face Talia. He grabs her and hurls her into her father knocking them both down to the other side of the room. They don't get up. He hears something in the air and whirls around to catch an arrow shot from Merlin. Before the archer has time to react, a bullet flies through his head, leaving him dead on the floor.

Tim turns around to see Hood shooting at all the other ninja. "I thought you said I had nothing to worry about," Hood says, referring back to their last conversation about Merlin before Tim escaped. Tim is almost dumbfounded by how casual the other male sounds after expressing wanting to kill him, just before slaughtering Merlin and a bunch of ninjas. Guess the other was just bluffing, only trying to distract Ra's before he was killed, but he sure was convincing.

"Kitten!" Selina yells from the entrance. In her arms is Ivy's limp body, dried up and weak. Tim sees red and turns to Hood.

"What did you do?!" He demands, clawed gloves out.

"We just kept her in a heated cell!" Hood explains. "Ra's only wanted her to join his cause, no serious harm was going to come to her."

"We both know how Ra's handles people who refuse to join his cause," Tim points out. He turns back to Catwoman. "Where's Harley?"

Selina makes a face. "She took the pill."

The wall next to the entrance shatters as Harley tackles her way through it. "HAVE NO FEAR, HARLEY QUINN IS HERE!!!"

"Guess I'll take that as my cue," Hood says, putting his gun away before heading to the exit. Tim doesn't ignore the lingering look Hood gives as he passes Harley to reach his exit. It's very clear the Joker made a rival out of this man when he was alive, and it looks like Harley was somehow dragged into it too. Again.

"Not sticking around?" Tim asks.

"No point in working for a man who wants you dead, Stray," Hood says, his back to Tim as he walks away.

"Hey!" Tim shouts. Hood stops and turns to face him. "Touch Ivy again and next time will be your last."

"I heard you were tempting," Hood mocks. "So is that a dare?"

Tim smirks, but there's nothing friendly about it. "It's a double dare."

As Tim watches Red Hood leave, Catwoman walks beside him, giving Harley the job of holding Ivy.

"Should we let him go?" she asks. It isn't until Hood turns the corner that Tim nods his head. Something tells him Red Hood was just as trapped as he was when Ra's first brought him here, and now that the man was lying unconscious by his daughter, he wasn't tethering Hood down to this place anymore. Selina nods her head as well. "Then let's get going. Ivy needs water and fast."

.

.

.

Back in Gotham, Ivy has been soaking in water back in headquarters. When she comes up she's already looking healthy and green again. "When the League of Assassins attacked, I almost thought it was Batman working with them by the way Hood was handling my plants."

"I wish you had brought him in for questioning, Tim," Babs says. "We could find out who he is."

"We have bigger fish to fry," Tim replies. Like an intergalactic battle with the Green Lanterns against Superman. "Besides, I don't think Ra's will bother us anytime soon. You should've seen his face when I threw Talia into him."

"I would've paid good money to have seen that," Selina agrees.

"Thanks for the rescue, Selina. Tim," Ivy says, plants suddenly appearing and covering up her entire body. Tim's seen this before, Ivy is taking her exit. "Tell Harley she knows where to find me if she needs anything."

"And if we need anything?" Tim asks.

Ivy smirks, before the plants finally cover her fully. "I don't help heroes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another update! Harley Quinn has officially joined the Regime and Jason is now a free man to cause whatever trouble he wants, expect him back really soon! Also, the title of the chapter is based off of Poison Ivy being a Gotham City Siren in case anyone was confused! Please leave some comments if you're enjoying the story, I love hearing from all of you!


	10. Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their first successful mission as a team, the Insurgency decide to bond but a familiar face from the grave comes back to haunt Tim and Barbara.

"So everyone is clear on the plan?" Oracle asks.

"Affirmative," Batwoman answers. Detective Gordon and Black Canary also give verbal confirmation while Tim and the others simply nod their heads.

"I can't believe you all are giving me this much responsibility," Harley Quinn says.

Montoya raises an eyebrow. "You're not doing anything. You're not even in the plan."

Harley sobs and pulls Montoya and Bullock, the closest ones to her, in a big hug. "You really are giving me a second chance!"

Tim rolls his eyes before turning to Wally. "Meet you on the roof in five?"

"What is it with you Gotham heroes and rooftops?" Wally groans. "We get it, you like to climb things!"

Tim can't help but laugh and neither can Katherine, Helena, and Babs. What makes it even funnier is how Gordon seems to agree, and isn't too happy about it either. It's true though. It doesn't matter if you're trying to take down Penguin, or steal the rarest jeweled crown, to successfully get a job down in Gotham, you gotta know how to handle the rooftops.

When everyone breaks away, Barbara takes Harley with her to monitor Superman's soldiers, although it's mainly to keep an eye on the former princess of crime as well. Tim goes down a hallway until he finds Selina and Zatanna. Not needed in the mission, Selina decided to pay Bruce and Alfred a visit. "Heading out?"

"I wouldn't consider magically teleporting to the Tower of Fate as 'out' but yes," Selina answers.

"Tell Alfred I said 'hi,'" He says, waving goodbye as Zatanna says her incantation to take them away.

Just as they completely disappear, Huntress shows up. "Locked and loaded?"

Tim shows his whip perched on his hip. "This cat's been dying for some fresh air."

.

.

.

"So how come everyone else gets to beat down these super soldiers and we're stuck on watch duty?" Wally complains. They've been watching as Black Canary, Huntress, and Batwoman wait with Bullock and Montoya to ambush the pair of super soldiers. But, of course, since there's actual waiting involved, Wally hates every second of it.

"Oracle wants to make sure the pill works for everyone," Tim explains, laying across the edge as he stares up into the sky. Not like there's a great view or anything, the city's light pollution makes sure of that. When he'd go have dinner with Kon and the Kents, him and Kon would always go up to the barn and stargaze...among other things.

"The pills work," Wally defends. "I should know seeing as I made them!"

"You recreated them, there's a difference," Tim points out.

"What should've taken decades to perfect took me only a few months-"

Tim throws up his hands. "Ok, ok, ok! We get it you're amazing," Tim laughs, sitting up to look at the other male. "Why do you wanna punch someone so bad anyways? It's not like you were a main fighter when you were with the Titans."

"And how would you know that? You were too busy stealing a ball of yarn to know who we were before you joined."

"Starfire _did_ lead us," He reminds him. "She had Impulse play your role once he joined the team. Strictly rescue and evacuate."

"That doesn't mean I can't fight."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself-"

"Do you know how hard a punch from me could be if I had a running start from China?"

"You'd have to take time to run to China," Tim says, laughing as soon Wally disappears. He doesn't even finish the laugh before the other returns, splashing a cup of water in his face. "What the fuck?!"

"And that was me taking my time to fill up the cup of water," Wally boasts. "Imagine if I really sprinted!"

Tim tries to wipe the water off on his sleeve, but it's difficult with a leather suit. Well, he'd just have to make a mental note for that. "We get it, you have a lot of stamina," Tim says, grinning. "I can only think of one other physical activity where that would be even remotely interesting."

Wally arches his eyebrow. Tim can't actually see it, because of his mask, but he can tell he's doing it. "Oh, trust me," He says, leaning closer. "I can last for hours."

"Hmm," Tim boldly starts tracing his finger on the other man's costumed chest. "I could've sworn I heard something about 'faster than a speeding bullet'? Doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me."

Wally chuckles, Tim can fill it in his chest. "It is when it only takes a few seconds to start back up again."

"Oh really?"

"Really." There's barely an inch of space between their bodies now, they can feel each other's breath as they stare into each other, one daring the other.

When Wally leans in, Tim pulls away. "Oracle can see us," He whispers.

Wally groans and is gone in a second, back in another with a confident smile on his face. "Not anymore."

This time, Wally grips his hands on Tim's hips to keep him still, even though the other isn't planning on moving away. However, just as they're about to press their lips together, Oracle's voice comes to life in their comm pieces. "Just because you turned the city cameras away doesn't mean I can't have eyes on you," she reminds them, almost like a mother catching her child making a face at her when her back is turned. "Please focus on the mission at hand."

Wally sighs. "Oracle, remind me to introduce you to Batgirl someday," He says. "She was a lot of fun. One time when Kid Flash came to visit, it was her idea to steal the Batmobile and-"

"Do you want me to broadcast live the footage of when Kid Flash and Nightwing decided to sneak into the Batcave to-"

"Fine!" Wally cries, cheeks turning red. "We'll focus." Tim has got to remind himself to get the full details about those two juicy stories later, but for now he puts his attention back on the group once Oracle announces the arrival of the two super soldiers. 

Montoya and Bullock take off in their direction, Batwoman trailing not too far behind them. Black Canary turns and goes in the opposite direction, probably to go check on Gordon. Huntress looks up at where Tim and Wally are perched and shoots her grapple gun. In a few moments she's up on the roof with them. Tim leads her to the other side of the roof, where Wally is already watching Montoya shoot one of the soldiers in the head. It does nothing damaging, of course, but it sure does piss the guy off.

"It looks like you're up," He says, giving the thumbs up to Huntress. She nods her head and jumps down, slamming right into the two soldiers to take out their communications. It's not even a moment after when Bullock tackles the pair into the building beneath them.

"Well that's not subtle at all," Tim says, shaking his head.

Wally laughs. "Let the man flaunt his new strength," he defends. Tim rolls his eyes, but stops mid-way when something catches his attention. He puts on his goggles and zooms in on what appears to be another solider making his way to where the group is taking down his officers, completely unaware.

"Oracle we have another soldier," Tim reports.

"My source said there would only be two on duty," Oracle says. Tim observes the soldier. His body seems relaxed, tired from a full day's work.

"I don't think he's on duty," Tim notes. "This could be just a shortcut home."

"Well aren't we lucky," she mumbles, sighing afterwards. "Alright, take him too."

Tim turns to Wally and gives him the nod of approval. Wally's grin is as big as a kid's on Christmas morning. "Hell yeah-" He's gone. When he's back he has the soldier in his arms, one hand over the stranger's mouth to silence his protests. "Would you like the honors?" Wally asks.

Tim shakes his head, but still trails his hand over to pouch of sleeping powder from Ivy. She might've said she wasn't helping them anymore, but she never leaves without parting gifts. "Go ahead," He tells the speedster. "I know how much you've wanted some action."

"Aw, that's very sweet of you, Tim-" Before he can finish his sentence, Tim chucks the powder straight into the soldier's face. He's out in seconds and his body is limp in Wally's arms, who drops him in shocked frustration. "What the hell was that about?!"

"That's for throwing water in my face," Tim reminds him.

Wally blinks a bunch of times before crinkling his nose. "I think some of that stuff got me."

Tim shrugs his shoulders innocently. "Oops?"

"I really hate you." Once Wally hits the ground, Tim takes the helmet off the soldier's head to disconnect his communications.

"Hey Oracle," he says into his comm. "The soldier caught Wally off-guard and took him down before I could react. Can you send Canary to come help carry them?"

"Tim you know I saw everything that just happened right?" Oracle says.

Tim smiles. "I also know Wally was very adamant on ruining the reputation of Batgirl earlier tonight."

A long pause passes before Oracle responds.

"I'll make sure to wipe the cameras clean."

 

.

 

Turns out there's no need for the whole 'good cop, bad cop' routine Harley Quinn wanted to play on the soldiers now that the Insurgency had M'gann. In a matter of seconds she was inside their heads, revealing everything they knew about Superman's plans with the Regime. It wasn't much, neither Superman nor the other big members of the Regime let these common soldiers know more than they were supposed to, but these idiots didn't mind. They were perfectly fine just patrolling the streets, beating civilians simply for being out two minutes past curfew. M'gann looked disgusted after she was done with them so Tim knew they've done some horrible things under the watch of Superman.

They were able to find out where they were getting shipments of super pills. Oracle wanted to plan how to intercept the deliveries as soon as possible. They were also able to figure out which cities Superman wanted to target next. It was pretty much every city that was attacked during Kalibak's invasion. The one city that peaked everyone's interest, however, was Atlantis. Superman wanted eyes on Aquaman. This bit of information was definitely something they could use in the future in case they needed more forces, but for now Oracle thought it would be best not to do anything too rash and risk getting Superman's attention after the stunt they pulled. So once they got what they needed, M'gann wiped their memory clean and Bullock left them on the street.

It's been a few weeks and Oracle is still trying to come up with the details of the new mission. Tim's been training with Batwoman again, appreciating the new training, as well as helping the GCPD get used to the power that comes with the super pill. Still no word from Guy and the Lanterns but that's to be expected. At least Superman hasn't gone forward with revealing Sinestro or anything. For now it seems both sides are at a stand still and when it's become apparent nothing is going to happen for awhile, Wally decides to take action.

"Just what exactly are you proposing, Wally?" Barbara asks.

"A night full of fun memories!" Wally proclaims. "I found that old projector in the storage and I know every single one of you has a photo album we could look through. Come on, it'll be fun!"

With nothing to do, everyone agreed to humor the speedster. Everyone went back to the respective homes and collectively brought back their own photo albums. They only had one rule: remove any and all photos of the heroes who had died. The last thing they wanted to do was have a night that was supposed to be fun, turn into a night full of mourning. The only exceptions to this rule were Dinah and Harley. Dinah said she wanted us to see some of the funniest pictures she got of Ollie, and no one was going to mourn Joker if he showed up on the projection. M'gann didn't have any photos, since she grew up on Mars, but was welcomed to the festivities of embarrassment anyway.

Since Wally came up with the idea, he went first.  Tim knew Wally spent most of the night before removing all the pictures of his time with the Titans, as they all included Dick or Kori, because he was doing the same thing with any pictures including Kon, Steph, Jason, or Karen. So most of his pictures included growing up in Central City, hanging out with Barry and Iris, and even some when he went off to college. Tim's favorite picture was of Wally when he won the lottery. He could practically see all the bacon cheeseburgers Wally was going to buy in his eyes.

When he's finished, Wally takes a seat right next to Tim, making sure his leg is pressed against Tim's as he does. Tim smirks and gently brushes his hand across Wally's thigh before reaching over to grab the popcorn. It's the game they've been playing since they ambushed Superman's men. Always lightly touching, but never more. It's quickly interrupted, however, once Baby decides to move from Helena's lap and straight to Wally's.

After Wally, Helena goes up. Then Dinah, Tim, and Harley. They were wrapping up Kate and Montoya's wedding when Barbara got out her photos. Her first photo are of her parents. Tim never knew what happened to her mom, only that she wasn't around anymore. Then the next was when she got her license. It's crazy, it would only be two years later that she would become Batgirl.

"The next one!" Harley urged, she's had no patience at all when it came to the slideshows. Barbara rolls her eyes but obliges, changing the next photo to-

Dick. The next photo is of Dick looking like he was caught off guard in his Nightwing uniform. He looks so young, it probably wasn't even a full year that he passed the Robin mantle onto Jason and became Nightwing. But it 's clear this was taken when Babs was Batgirl which means this was probably taken when they were dating, as Dick didn't start dating Kori until after Jason died.

The room falls silent fast. It's hard looking at Dick knowing he isn't alive anymore and Tim knew Wally and Barbara felt the same.

"I-" Barbara starts, but fails to finish. She closes her eyes and pushes herself out the room. "Sorry I...there's some work I have to get done."

Tim watches her leave before his eyes fall to the ground. He can hear Wally sniff away the tears he refuses to let fall next to him, while Kate and Montoya try desperately to change the slide to something else. Tim gets up from his seat and leaves the room to follow Barbara. He finds her in front of her computer, silently crying into her hands.

"Babs," He calls out, making her jump up in surprise. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Barbara wipes her nose. "I'm fine," she assures. "It just never gets easy, seeing their faces."

Tim figured as much. Almost everyone close to Dick had someone to lean on to when he passed. He had Selina and Steph, while Wally had his girlfriend at the time, Frankie. He knew Babs had her dad and the Birds of Prey but something still seemed off, he knew Barbara wasn't telling the truth. He knew Gordon wasn't doing too hot these days, he wondered if that had anything to do with it. "Are you sure it's not anything else?"

"I'm sure," Barbara says, nodding her head. "Thanks."

Tim watches for a moment as Barbara quickly goes back to work. When it's clear she's done talking, he silently takes his leave.

 

.

 

When Selina comes back from the Tower of Fate, she gave us an update on Bruce's recovery. His back was still pretty much hopeless but thanks to Doctor Fate he wasn't in any pain. Bruce actually requested to speak to Wally about the pills so when Selina returned Zatanna left with him right after.

Tim and M'gann were just coming back from patrol when they spotted Huntress and Batwoman, who were doing the same thing. Tim made a face. "I thought you two were supposed to be out there for another two hours?"

"Oracle wants us all in the holding room," Helena answers. "She says it's urgent."

Tim nods and gets in step with the two vigilantes while Miss Martian simply materializes through the walls to get to their destination. Tim honestly didn't know what to expect, but Jim Gordon waiting for them with Clayface wasn't one of them.

Apparently neither is anyone else. Oracle suspiciously glances between the two and Dinah looks outright furious. "Gordon, we want answers," she demands.

"To which you're entitled," Gordon replies. "Mr. Karlo will be exchanging his services for protection from the military police. After the loss of the Martian Manhunter, I believe he'll be of great assistance to you."

"We already have Miss Martian," Batwoman says, motioning towards M'gann.

"She's just a kid-"

"I'm old enough to be on the Titans!" M'gann points out. "And they've saved the world plenty of times."

"It's true," Tim adds casually. "I was there for a few of them."

"Dad," Oracle says. "Miss Martian is more than capable of helping out with missions, but if Clayface wants to help, we could use it."

Gordon nods, gesturing towards Harley. "With me, Harley."

Tim and the others watch as Harley draws a blood sample for Oracle before Montoya escorts Clayface to his cell so they can figure out what to do with him. Once the commotion is settled, everyone leaves the room so Oracle can get back to work.

"Hey, Kitten," Selina calls out walking with M'gann. "Found out Miss Martian here has never had sushi rolls with baked salmon. After I make some, how about we meet up in your room for a movie night?"

"Sounds good to me," Tim says, smiling. He can never turn down free food and a movie.

 

.

 

Tim's been waiting in his room for hours now when he decides to go out and look for Selina and M'gann. He opens the door and jumps at the same time as Kate, who was just about to knock on his door. "Jesus Christ, Kate!" He yells, clutching his chest. "I was just about to look for Selina and M'gann before you decided to give me heart attack!"

"Sorry," she says, a little out of breath herself. "I was gonna ask if you've seen Renee?"

"No, not since..." Tim stops, it couldn't have been that easy could it? He looks back at Kate, who he thinks is started to realize it too. "Not since she left with Clayface."

Tim rushes into his room and grabs his whip before speeding down the hallway with Batwoman. As they run, they pass by Huntress. "What's happening?" she demands, but is running after them anyways, already loading her crossbow. When they reach the kitchen, which isn't too far from Clayface's holding cell, they find Black Canary and Gordon helping out M'gann and Selina, who are covered in Clayface's goo.

"He pretended to be Martian Manhunter," Selina winced, clutching her side.

"What about Renee?" Kate demands.

"Bullock has her," Gordon assures.

Clayface must've been working for Superman all along, Tim realizes. And if he were Superman, he'd want Clayface to take out the most important person of their resistance, and that was Barbara. Without saying anything, Tim takes off running towards the surveillance room. He opens the door to the next hallway just as Nightwing throws a punch at Barbara.

Seeing Dick again does something to him. He thinks back to all the times Dick lectured him on messing with Stephanie, the times him and Jason would sneak in Dick's room to steal his sweets, to when he was underneath Dick as the other thrust into him again and again.

"Dick, no!" Tim instantly yells, pushing the memories back. No, this isn't Dick. Babs manages to catch his arm anyway and buys enough time for Tim to wrap his whip around Dick's neck. He twists his handle to release his thorns but Basil Karlo transforms back into Clayface before they penetrate his skin. The giant goo monster yanks Tim forward from his whip and slams him down, leaving him in a giant mess of slime.

He hears the others approaching and Gordon calling out to Barbara before Clayface smacks him into a wall. He does the same with Batwoman and Huntress before they can do anything. Tim tries to push himself up when Canary's scream fills the room distracting Clayface long enough for Barbara to throw the wheel from her wheelchair right into where his face should be. He falls back towards Tim, who takes out another packet of sleep powder and spreads it all over before rushing up to help Gordon with Barbara.

They're all back in the infirmary getting patched up with Harley's Hello Kitty band aids (Baby is being her little assistant) when Wally and Zatanna walk in. "What happened?" Zatanna asks.

"Seriously, I was gone for two seconds, dudes," Wally adds.

Tim lifts up one of the many jars containing Clayface. "Superman tried to pull a fast one."

Wally smirks. "Still not as fast as me, I see," He jokes, but grimaces when it's met with multiple glares. Not even Harley snickers. "Maybe I should just go-"

"Actually, you're just in time," Barbara says.

Wally frowns. "Am I now?"

She nods, taking one of the jars and putting it in his hands. "You get to show off your running skills by hiding these jars separately all over the world."

Wally lets out a sigh as everyone laughs at him. "Alright, I guess I deserved that."

Then Baby-sweet, innocent Baby-walks up to Wally to place a brand new Hello Kitty band aid on his knee, which makes everyone laugh even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another update! Only four more chapters left before the end of Year Two and the beginning of Year Three, thank you all so much for the support, please feel free to comment anything you like!


	11. The New Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Tim worries for Miss Martian's future with the Regime, he teams up with the Red Hood to save another young girl from a dangerous ring.

It's been months since the incident with Clayface. With no word from the Green Lanterns yet and Black Canary officially benched due to her pregnancy, Oracle has been trying to get the Regime to recruit more heroes as well as patrol Gotham from Superman's super soldiers.

"You're just so BIG!" Harley giggles, pointing at the growing belly of Dinah as the poor woman tries to watch tv in peace.

"What every girl wants to hear, Harley," she mumbles, sending an amused look to Tim who's watching everything from his seat, laptop in hand. He's supposed to be in Atlantis in a couple weeks to have a meeting with Aquaman and Queen Mera about a hopeful alliance. Last time Batman asked for Aquaman to join the Regime the other refused because he feared Superman would retaliate against his city like he did the year before, but Tim and Oracle hope this time will be different. Batwoman and Miss Martian were going to tag along, the former for her diplomacy and the latter because she's simply never been.

M'gann has been a huge help, she's even managed to patrol Gotham by herself when the rest of them were stretched too thin. Now she's with Wally and Huntress trying to locate Silver Sorceress for recruitment.

"Oh! I think I saw it move!" Harley cries. Tim decides to look himself and sure enough, something tiny is definitely poking against Dinah's skin. Harley and Baby are losing their minds, but Canary just laughs.

"Little one's getting restless," she observes. Dinah and Barbara have both agreed that going to see a doctor was risky now that Superman seemed fine with sending villains to take them out. Luckily for them they knew a guy who not only has experience with pregnancies and deliveries but who, in Tim's opinion, also decided to slum it by serving some pretentious billionaire orphan. Alfred really is too good for any of them.

 "Your belly's so low," Harley notes. "You're definitely having a boy!"

"That's just an old wives' tale, Auntie Harley," Tim dismisses.

"Nuh-uh, Timmy-Cat! I swear!"

"How would you even know?" Tim asks. He watches as Dinah and Harley share a look before Harely grins at Tim.

"My sista had a lil' girl a couple a years back!" she defends. "And lemme tell you, I knew she was havin' a girl by how soft her hands were!" As if on cue, Harley tries to take Dinah's hands, but the other blonde anticipates it and moves them away.

"You've rubbed my hands four times already!"

Tim's laughing when all of a sudden Wally rushes into the room with M'gann passed out in his arms. "Clear the table!" he shouts. Tim's eyes widen and a gasp escapes his lips but he quickly rushes over to the table and makes room for Wally to lay M'gann down. Harley is tending to her not a moment after.

"What happened?" Dinah demands. Wally opens his mouth like he's going to answer when a cloud of smoke with a _poof_ sound appears behind them.

"It was Raven," Zatanna answers, stepping clear of the smoke with Huntress.

"We ran into some trouble with the League looking for Silver Sorceress," Helena continues, ripping off her mask. "We were holding them off until Raven showed up."

"She did this?" Tim asks, motioning towards M'gann's body.

"I don't think it was intentional," Wally says. "M'gann tried going inside her head and then they both started screaming a lot before they finally passed out. Only reason we got away is because they had to rush Raven to the Watchtower and because Zatanna showed up."

"I've been keeping track on Raven since she's been on the hunt for Batman," Zatanna explains. With worry on her face, she presses a hand onto M'gann's forehead. "Raven is part demon and therefore has a mind that should never be tampered with."

"Can you help her?" Tim asks.

Zatanna nods her head before closing her eyes. "Ekat yawa lla eht dab seiromem ni reh deah," she breathes. M'gann's rapid breathing slows down and eventually she seems to slip into a more comfortable sleep. Zatanna opens her eyes and gives her some room. "It could've been far worse," she says. "She's very lucky."

Zatanna waits for Barbara to show up to fill her in before she returns to the Tower of Fate. Tim, Harley, and Wally take turns watching over M'gann for the night but by morning she's able to get out of bed and walk around just fine. It doesn't stop the others from worrying though. What happened to M'gann is just another reminder that she's barely sixteen and if anything happened to her, the guilt would be on all of them. She's helped out a lot and Tim has no doubt in his mind that she'd be one of the strongest members on the team if the Titans were still around to train her, but right now the environment is nowhere near suitable for her to truly be safe as she grows into her powers more. Problem is, they can't just send her back to Mars. She's gotten the taste of being a hero, and just like her uncle she's dedicated to doing the right thing. So for now Barbara just has her watching Baby and patrolling Gotham.

When Tim goes to the kitchen Kate, Renee, and Helena are there, talking with a pot of coffee between them. Tim walks to them to reach for the pot when he notices how quiet they've become.

"I thought I was the only gossip queen in here," Tim jokes. "What's up?"

Helena leans back in her chair. "Looks like that Hood guy that saved you is surfacing again."

"Already?" Tim asks. He thought the Red Hood would be keeping a low profile from Ra's and his assassins for at least a little while longer.

"Barbara's spotted him in Portland," Kate tells him, handing him some screenshots. "She's debating if we should intervene."

Tim studies the photos. When he notices something a little odd he looks at Kate. "Where's Barbara now?"

"Where she always is," she answers. Tim heads over to Barbara's computer room and finds her in front of the biggest screen.

"Hey, I was just talking with Helena and Kate about Red Hood being spotted," He explains, holding out a picture. "Does it look like-"

"He's purposefully trying to get our attention?" Barbara answers. "Absolutely."

Tim watches as Barbara pulls up video feed. "What's his game here, Babs?"

"He could be trying to bait us," she says. "You said he's enemies with Joker, which means he might want to target Harley."

"It doesn't explain why he'd bring so much attention to himself knowing Ra's wants him dead," Tim argues.

"So you think he could possibly be asking for our help?"

"Only one way to find out," he says. Besides, this guy did save Tim's life. If he's in trouble with Ra's now because of it, Tim supposes he owes him.

Barbara lets out a sigh. "Be careful Tim," she warns. "There's just something off about this guy."

"I get what you mean," Tim says, already heading out. "I'll leave once I pack some things."

 

.

 

Tim waits until nightfall to teleport into Portland, mainly because Red Hood seems to only be active at night. Babs thought he should be simple enough to find, he seems to be looking for someone, while also trying to get the Insurgency's attention by stopping petty crime here and there. Before he left, Barbara hacked into the Portland police records to see what's been going on in the city. Nothing too out of wack, except for a rise in reports of people suffering horrible nightmares and suicide. He doesn't know if the two relate or if it has anything to do with Hood, but that's what he's going to find out.

He spends a couple hours searching for the masked stranger but takes a break to get some food. He's munching down a deluxe double bacon cheeseburger when he gets a call from Wally.

"I'm on the job, Impulse," Tim tells him, taking another bite out of his burger.

"Really? Because it sounds like you're stuffing your face," Wally notes.

Tim shrugs, forgetting the other can't see him before answering, "Someone's gotta do the dirty work."

"No, the dirty work is being stuck taking care of Baby," Wally complains. "He vomited on my favorite shirt."

"Were you spinning him around again?" Silence. "Because that's what upsets his stomach."

A long pause. "So maybe we were having too much fun," He finally confesses. "The kid could still warn somebody."

Tim laughs. "What's everyone else up to?"

"Miss Martian and Oracle are here," He says. "Harley Quinn and Black Canary went to Star City to get some things for the baby, Commissioner Gordon is patrolling Gotham, and Huntress and Batwoman are chasing a lead on the Atom."

"Sounds eventful," He says, before his ears pick up a sound. Someone's on the roof with him. "Impulse, I'm going to let you go."

"Everything ok?"

"Splendid." Tim hangs up and makes a show of himself stretching out his arms. "You know it's rude to sneak up on people," He calls out to the figure behind him.

"Not as rude as tracking someone to another city," A auto-tuned voice answers.

Tim turns around to see Red Hood standing behind him with a pistol in his hand. The safety's still on but Tim has no doubt in his mind that the other man can switch it off faster than Tim can uncoil his whip, so better to keep the other talking. "It's pretty easy with the way you were leaving clues behind."

"I was trying to get the Insurgency's attention," Red Hood agrees. "But I thought they'd send someone useful like Black Canary or Batwoman. You know, a _real_ hero."

Oh. How cute, he wants to play. "This is coming from the lackey of Ra's al Ghul?" Tim asks, looking the other up and down. "Please forgive me if I'm not exactly insulted by someone who got kicked out of the murderer's club for being nice."

"For saving your life, if I remember correctly."

"And if I remember correctly, I saved yours when I rescued Ivy."

"All you did was leave the door open for me to walk out."

"A door your incompetent ass wouldn't have been able to even touch if I didn't show up."

Red Hood stays silent and for a second Tim thinks he's really going to shoot him which, honestly, would be fair. Finally the other curses under his breath and puts his gun away. "I really want to shoot you."

"You wouldn't be the first," Tim replies, shrugging his shoulders. "What are you doing here, Hood?"

There's a pause before Hood lets out a long sigh, chest rising and everything, and then moves a little closer to Tim. "I'm assuming you've brushed up on the city's police records?"

"This isn't my first rodeo."

"Then you know about the rise in nightmares and suicides that have been happening lately?"

"Are you saying they're related?" Tim asks. It's one thing if a single person kills themselves from terrible nightmares, but a bunch of people? It can't be a mere coincidence, it could potentially be a planned pattern.

"According to my sources, yes," Hood answers. "And it all leads to one person being the root of the problem."

"And who's that?"

"All my possible identities are based on a hunch," He responds. "I won't know until I can track them down."

"Who knew the big bad assassin had a hero streak in them," He teases.

Hood's faceless mask just looks at him and Tim wonders if the other is truly annoyed or just insulted. "I could use your help," He says, extending his hand. "Partners?"

Tim's never really been referred to as a partner before, even though he's had many, so it's a little cool to hear someone call him that. So Hood gets disowned by Ra's and decides to relocate to Portland to play hero. Hmm. Well, Tim's got nothing else to do, and if this guy is serious about helping the greater good, the Insurgency is always looking for new recruit.

Tim dismisses the hand. "Handshakes are so hetero," Tim notes aloud, starting to walk to the fire escape.

"Figured you'd say that," Hood says. And yet, despite the autotune, Tim could swear the other was teasing in his voice.

 

.

 

Working with the Red Hood is definitely weird to say the least. He's kinda like Batman in that he hardly ever talks unless he's angrily muttering to himself, only difference being that he's down for the murder, clearly. He also took off his helmet (although he still has on his domino) a while ago and Tim is still surprised by how attractive his face is, even the white streak in his hair is working for him.

What's interesting though is Tim keeps getting the feeling that Hood is purposefully putting himself in Tim's view, almost like he wants Tim to look at him. When he asks Hood if that's the case, the other male just gets pissed, eyes flashing green and all, and storms off ahead.

"So if you hate the Joker, why go by Red Hood?" Tim asks, catching up to the assassin.

"Because I was supposed to kill him," he answers. When Tim just stares back at him, he shrugs. "I thought it was poetic."

Tim laughs. "Who knew you have a flare for dramatics," He teases.

Hood breathes sharply through his nose, like he's about to scream at Tim again, when a woman's scream cuts him off. They both turn to an apartment complex, where suddenly screams can by heard from every room in the building.

"What the hell is happening?" Tim asks.

"There."

Tim follows Hood's finger to a dark cloud that has formed on the roof of the building. At the center of the cloud is a petite woman, who's face is covered by smoke coming from a ring on her right hand.

"We need to get that ring off her," Hood explains. "If we don't stop it before it finishes it's ritual, the whole planet will be destroyed."

Tim does a double take. "I'm sorry, what?!" He demands. "Why is the whole planet at stake here?!"

"No time!" Hood shouts, shooting a grapple gun directly at the cloud. It roars to life as the woman in the center arches in pain. Hood flies towards it with his grapple gun, already firing with his other gun. The smoke seems to deflect the bullets so Tim lashes his whip out to join Hood on the roof. Once landed, he tries to lash the whip at the girl's ankle but she uses to ring to form some type of shield around herself.

The ring shoots out a edged spike towards Tim, who leaps out of the way and throws a dagger of his own. This throws the girl off guard and gives Hood the opportunity to tackle her to the ground. The cloud of smoke suddenly disappears but the girl uses the ring to form a giant fist to slam into Hood, similar to how the Lanterns use their rings.

Tim tries to rush the girl, but the giant fist opens up to grab him and slam him into the ground. Almost instantly, Tim's head is filled with all types of nightmarish visions, all flashing through his mind as the ring seems to absorb the fear out of everyone in the building. One particular nightmare keeps playing over and over again. It shows a girl watching her friends being tortured and murdered in front of her by two men. They keep calling her name but she can't move, she can't help.

A gunshot brings him back to reality as Hood tries again to shoot the girl down. The ring's smoke returns to block the bullets, but it's able to show Tim a clear view of the girl. The same girl from the nightmare.

Tim tries to think. This ring is different from the Yellow Lantern rings, which feeds off fear itself. This fear is feeding off this girl's trauma from seeing her friends killed. In order to stop it, Tim needs to get her to snap out of it.

"Jessica!" He shouts. The girl's head snaps forward, her once vacant eyes now focusing slightly on him. "Jessica, you need to take off that ring! Try to remember how important your friendship with your friends were!"

"I...can't!" She gasps.

"Try!" He insists. "What happen to them was horrible, but you need to find your willpower to stop the pain. Your will and their memory will save you! Remember how it was to love them!"

"NOOOO!!" A shrill voice screams. It's coming from the ring and it's struggling to stop Jessica's other hand from reaching for it.

"I love my friends," she whispers.

"Fight for them, Jessica!" Tim urges. "Fight in their memory!"

Jessica lets out a loud scream as she finally covers the ring with her other hand. In an instant, a blinding green light shines through her and all across the sky, causing Tim to shield his eyes. When he opens them, he finds Jessica in a Green Lantern uniform, the screams of the residents downstairs going silent as the green light shining from her figure soothes them.

Suddenly the light disappears and Jessica falls to the ground in civilian clothes. Tim and Hood are by her side.

"I did it," she breathes.

Tim nods to her, before turning to Hood. "Did you know she was a Lantern?"

Hood nods. "It was one of my hunches," he says, motioning to the new lantern ring on her finger. "That belonged to Kyle Rayner, but his death must've been so traumatic that it transformed into the Ring of Volthoom before seeking a new ring bearer. Instead of finding someone full of bravery and willpower, the ring sought out someone suffering from deep trauma, that way it could harness her fears to summon a being capable of devouring worlds."

"How the fuck do you know this?" He asks, bewildered. "Did you know Rayner?"

"I've met him," Hood says coolly. "It was my job to track potential allies for Ra's al Ghul. When we learned he passed at the hands of Sinestro, I read up on ancient alien textbooks about the different types of rings in the universe. The Ring of Volthoom seemed like the most likely solution so I started searching for it's victim after Ra's banished me."

Tim eyed him. "And why would an assassin want to save the world?"

Hood held his gaze for a moment before looking away. "Because I like living in it."

Tim watches him for a little longer before glancing back at Jessica. "Fair enough," He says. "But now we have an untrained Green Lantern on our hands."

"A what?" Jessica repeats.

"You mean your hands," Hood says, rising to his feet. "My job here's done."

"Excuse me?" Tim demands.

"There's a reason I got the Insurgency involved," He says. "Maybe you guys can reach out to your friends in space."

Tim shakes his head. Clearly he's talking about the Green Lantern Corps. "So what? You help save the world and now you just leave?"

"Are you asking me to stay?" Without the helmet's voice toner, Hood's voice is completely filled with tease and...flirting? It catches Tim by surprise which causes the other male to laugh before shooting out his grapple gun. "Nice working with you, Stray."

And then he's gone.

 

.

 

Barbara isn't exactly thrilled when Tim shows up with a random stranger at the hideout. She doesn't even calm down when Tim reveals she's a new Green Lantern.

"That's why Sinestro has been spotted more and more on my feeds," she mumbles. "Tim, he's searching for her. And unlike Superman, he doesn't care about the truce made for Dinah's sake."

"What should we do then?" Tim asks. "Let her fend for herself?"

Barbara looks at Jessica in the other room, who's talking with Wally and M'gann while Baby sits in her lap. Huntress doesn't really like how trusting the little guy can be, but Tim thinks it's because he senses the good in people.

"I don't know what to tell you, Tim," Barbara sighs. "Guy says it's too risky to send a team out. Yellow Lanterns are patrolling all usual routes to Earth."

"What if they met us halfway?"

Tim and Barbara turn around to look at Miss Martian, who was clearly eavesdropping. "We don't exactly have spaceships to spare, M'gann," Babs says.

"I can take her," she offers. "The Yellow Lanterns won't be able to detect me with my powers, and if they do, I can wipe their memories clean as well."

"Why are you offering to do this?" Wally asks, joining them along with Jessica. "This could be dangerous."

M'gann offers a simple smile. "I know everything that happened to Raven has made you all worry for my safety," she confesses. "I want to be a hero like my uncle, but I also don't want to be a burden. This way, I can still do some good by taking Miss Cruz to OA. And who knows, maybe the Guardians will allow me to stay to continue my training and I'll return to Earth once I'm ready."

Tim wanted to object, but M'gann could read all of their minds after all. They were all trying to figure out how to keep her from this battle with Superman and the Regime, and now a window of opportunity has presented itself. He just can't believe it was M'gann herself that came up with it.

"Your uncle would have been so proud of you, M'gann," Dinah tells her, waddling her way into the room. She pulls M'gann into a hug and Tim feels like a decision has been made.

"I'll call Guy," Barbara says, realizing the same thing. "I'll ask him to have a few Lanterns meet the two of you halfway to OA."

M'gann's eyes fill with tears as she looks across the room. "Thank you, all. For everything."

That night everyone sneaks onto the roof of the old Wayne Industries building to see the two girls off. Jessica turns on her ring and gets into uniform so she'll be able to fly into space and be able to breathe. Once everyone says goodbye, M'gann takes her by the hand and makes them go invisible as they fly off into the night sky. Hopefully the next time Tim sees either of them, Earth will be a better place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of reasons why I did this chapter. I wanted to introduce Jessica Cruz, so Kyle's horrible death gave me that opportunity. I needed a reason for Miss Martian to leave the fight without killing her (if the series continues to do good, both of them will definitely be back). And I wanted Tim and Jason to team up haha. Also the beginning of the chapter hints at Harley Quinn's baby for those of you who haven't read Injustice (Joker is the father). The next chapter will be Tim traveling to Atlantis!


	12. Dangerous Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim travels to Atlantis with hopes of recruiting Aquaman and his forces to the upcoming battle, but something dark is lurking in the water that spells trouble for the underwater continent.

Everyone at the Hideout is currently losing their minds; Barbara's barking orders so fast, most of them are left unanswered. Kate and Renee are quickly trying to move things around while also trying to explain things to a clueless Bullock and Gordon. Helena is doing her very best at trying not to lose her temper on Baby, who simply insists she stops what she's doing to see the eightieth picture he's drawn of her. Wally is nothing but a red blur as he travels all over the world to figure out how to solve the problem that doesn't need solving. Meanwhile Tim and Selena just watch as they all run like chickens with their heads cut off.

Dinah Lance is having her baby.

Her water broke last night so Wally had to rush her to her hospital back in Central City. She urged the rest of the team not to follow, but shortly after she left Harley took off. She said she was just going for a walk but Tim knows his auntie too well to know that Harley stopped taking walks after her hyenas passed.

"They're being so dramatic," Selena complains, rolling her eyes as she watches the chaos in front of her.

"Yeah," Tim agrees. "I don't remember acting this way when Steph had her baby."

"That's because a cat never loses their cool, Kitten," she reminds him. If this were a sitcom, Tim is sure a bunch of flashbacks of both of them losing their cool would start appearing right about now, but instead he just nods his head. Watching everything unfold, Tim would think they were all preparing for war, not the arrival of a baby.

**Incoming. F-10, Harley Quinn and F-3, Black Canary with an Unknown Intruder.**

"Oh perfect, our security system is going to kill the baby," Tim mocks, watching as the guns of headquarters start to get drawn out.

"I'm on it!" Barbara shouts, strands of hair all over her face. Honestly, it's like none of them have ever seen a baby before.

"We're baaaaccckkkk!" Harley sings, stepping out of the teleporter, not seeming to care she was almost blasted by security protocol. "And we brought a guest!"

Everyone stops what they're doing, including Tim, and gets closer as Dinah steps through with a baby cradled in her arms, sound asleep. Kate and Barbara gush at how cute the baby is as they all make a path so Dinah can take a seat.

"He's healthy," Dinah says. "Very healthy."

"He?" Helena asks, since none of them knew the sex of baby.

Dinah nods her head and looks at the precious boy in her arms. "Connor," she whispers.

Tim feels a slight sting in his chest. He can't help but think of Kon, who always insisted Tim call him Connor, but Tim thought it didn't fit. Superboy looked like a Kon. But this baby, the son of Dinah and Oliver, definitely looks like a Connor.

In those brief moments, with everyone watching Dinah and her baby, it almost seemed like nothing was wrong in the world. Like they all weren't apart of a group trying to take down a once-hero now-dictator before he spread his horrible ideals throughout the world. Like they didn't lose so many friends. Like Oliver Queen was going to walk through the door any second now and meet his son for the first time.

But then Dinah closes her eyes, and Tim sees a flash of pain before she looks up at everyone. "The Green Lanterns are ready."

And just like that, it's like baby Connor doesn't exist. Barbara leans forward from her wheelchair, "How long?"

"Three weeks," Canary says.

"Well that gives us enough time to prepare but why so long?" Tim asks. He knows it doesn't take long for a Lantern to travel anywhere in the universe.

"They're bringing Mogo," Dinah reveals.

"They're bringing a planet?!" Helena asks.

"Wow they must really want to make sure Superman goes down," Wally mumbles.

"They want to make sure the battle doesn't harm Earth civilians at all," Dinah explains. "Which is why we need to be ready when they arrive."

"Tim," Barbara calls. "Come with me."

Tim nods his head and follows the woman to her main computer room just as Wally asks Dinah if M'gann and Jessica made it. Tim is relieved to see the new mother nod her head just as Barbara closes the door. "What is it?" he asks.

"We need to pull out all the stops," she says, pulling out an image of a familiar city. "Which is why it's time for you to head to Atlantis."

 

.

 

This isn't Tim's first time visiting the kingdom of Atlantis (in fact, it's his second), but it is the first time visiting since Tula died. He never would admit it when she was alive, but she did have a way of making him feel relaxed. Now he feels nervous and Garth isn't exactly helping either. He's hard now, barely mumbled a greeting when he picked Tim up from the surface to take him to Poseidonis. He escorted Tim to the city's council room in silence and he didn't even make fun of how Tim put on his breathalyzer like he used to.

Once in the room, Garth pulls him to the corner so they wouldn't disturb the meeting currently happening. Tim yanks his arm free, which is a bit harder to do underwater but he's a little fed up with the way his 'friend' is acting.

"Aqualad, what the hell has gotten into you?" He demands, in a hushed tone.

At first Garth doesn't reply, then finally, "I do not go by Aqualad anymore. I am Tempest now."

Not really an answer, but Tim will take what he can get. He tries another approach. "Tempest, huh? Pretty badass, actually," He compliments. "Why the change?"

Garth finally, finally, looks at him but it's a full on glare. "Because we're not kids anymore, Stray."

Right. Tim of all people can understand that, it would be a little comical if he was still going by Catlad. But clearly Garth isn't trying to buddy-buddy down memory lane, so Tim gestures to the table full of people in front of him. "Can you at least fill me in on who they are? C'mon, Garth, I need to know who I'm gonna plea my case to."

Garth lets out a sigh, but it's more out of annoyance than reluctance. Still he points at two men standing beside Aquaman, "That's Murk and Jurok. Murk is the leader of the Men-of-War, army of Atlantis, and Jurok is the Keeper of Monsters, a military position with high honor and responsibility."

"So he takes care of that pet Kraken used on Superman, right?" Garth nods. It might be good to appeal to those two since they have high positions in the military. If they think this battle with Superman is just then maybe they can convince Aquaman the same. And something tells him they are both itching for a rematch with the man of steel.

"The pair merpeople next to Mera are King Iqula and Queen S'ona," Garth points out. "They rule the city of Tritonis. Across from them is Nuada Silverarm, a powerful sorceress and queen of Thierna Na Oge. Many of our country's magic users study there to hone their craft."

"Like you?"

Again, Garth nods. "Beside the king is Vulko, his most trusted adviser. He is the city's oldest dignitary."

Tim takes all the information in as he watches what seems to be a heated debate take place. Looks like Aquaman is dealing with his very own crisis beneath the surface. Aquaman manages to quiet them down long enough for him to ask what's the problem.

"More cases have been reported from the Seal Men," King Iqula answers.

"How many?"

"About half a dozen," Vulko answers.

"Do we finally suspect an outbreak?" Mera asks, voice full of concern.

"Let's not be too hasty," Aquaman responds. "Are they showing the same symptoms?"

"Extreme memory loss, high aggression, and they've all been producing a similar black ooze, my king," Vulko answers.

Aquaman lets out a sigh, tired, before turning to the sorceress. "Any chance your healers can deal with this?"

"I can't risk the safety of my people," Nuada warns. "But perhaps Mera and I could look at some of the victims somewhere isolated, like an outpost."

Aquaman seems to be in thought, clearly not wanting to send his wife outside the city limits. "Very well," he says. "But Murk and Tempest shall escort you. You are, of course, welcomed to bring your own guard as well, Nuada." The council seems pleased by this plan of action and some start drifting their gaze to Tim in the corner. Finally Aquaman beckons them to come forward and Tim and Garth swim up to the table.

"A human?" King Iqula asks, as if the underwater breathing tech around his mouth didn't give that away, but Tim stays quiet. He knows from his experience with Garth and Tula how bad Atlanteans are with sarcasm, and the older ones are probably worse.

"Welcome, Stray," Mera greets, getting up from her chair to hug Tim. This isn't the first time they've met, of course, but Tim didn't know they were close enough to hug each other in greeting. Maybe Mera is just a warm and friendly type of person, something Tula would've picked up on when she trained with her. Clearly the rest of the council, especially Aquaman, doesn't feel the same. Mera looks at him as if she can sense his nervousness and smiles. "Do not fret, young one. You may speak freely here."

"Although I must say I fear what the surface walker has to say," Vulko adds, although there's a bit of tease in his voice. It appears Atlanteans might have some humor in them after all.

When it's obvious they are all waiting for him to speak, Tim takes a deep breath. It's now or never. "The Green Lanterns are coming to arrest Superman," he blurts out.

Aquaman scoffs. "Hal is a hypocrite. Unless he plans on arresting himself," He says. Tim remembers it was Hal who used the power of the ring to keep Atlantis trapped when Superman and Shazam moved the continent to the largest desert in the world.

"No, not Hal," he assures. "Actually I think the Green Lanterns arrested him, too. But then John Stewart released him? Guy wasn't very clear-"

"Guy has returned?" Aquaman asks.

"Yeah," Tim answers. "Well, no. Only for a little bit, and then he left."

"I'm not confident the surface dwellers sent the best ambassador to represent them my king," Vulko muses.

"We're wasting time," Nuada adds. "I should be prepping a lab."

Shit. He's losing them. Oh well so much for polite Timothy Drake. If he's got any shot at this, he needs to bring out Stray.

King Iqula rises from his seat. "Enough of this debacle! I must return-"

"You'll return when I'm done speaking!" Tim cuts in, silencing the merman. His gaze moves from him to the other Atlanteans in the room, daring any of them to interrupt him again, including their king. "As I was saying, there's a war coming. And not just any war, we're dealing with something none of us have ever dealt with."

"You know nothing of the wars fought in the depths of our oceans!" Murk argues.

"Is there anything in your ocean that can take on an entire planet?" Tim asks. When the soldier does nothing but gawk at him, Tim rolls his eyes. "Yeah, didn't think so. Now shut the fuck up."

Aquaman lets out a sigh. "We have a lot to consider, Stray," He says. "The Atlanteans don't fear conflict with the surface but as their king I must not foolishly rush them into battle again."

"I understand," Tim says. "When will you have an answer?"

Aquaman glances at his council. "We shall reach a verdict by sunrise tomorrow. You are welcomed to stay here as our guest until then."

"You are too kind," Tim says, already thinking about all the fabulous dishes he's about to get his hands on. After he's dismissed Garth escorts him out of the throne room. The younger male still doesn't try to hold any conversation, so Tim decides not to bother. It isn't until they're walking (swimming) outside the palace and onto the streets of the city that he turns to look at Tim.

"For the record," He says. "I will vote to not only deny aid to your cause, but I will also vote to stand with Superman."

Tim stops in his tracks like he's just slammed into a brick wall. He could only imagine what his face looks like as he stares at Garth, who looks back at him as if he didn't just say he'd work with the biggest threat on Earth. "Garth, he nearly destroyed Atlantis-"

"He _saved_ Atlantis!" Garth shouts, causing a few Atlanteans nearby to look their way, but he doesn't seem to care. "If it wasn't for Superman, more of my people would have shared Tula's fate. If you and Batman weren't so busy fighting him all the time instead of helping him, then maybe he could've saved her too. Maybe he could've saved Stephanie-"

"Superman killed our friends, Garth!" Tim shouts back. "There's no question about it!"

"Because they tried to stop him-"

"He needs to be stopped!"

"I won't let that happen!"

"Then I will take you down too!" Tim threatens. "And don't think I won't."

He's pretty bold to be threatening an Atlantean in the middle of the ocean, but he's not just gonna scamper away while Garth basically admits to doing everything he can to stop them from fighting Clark. He doesn't care how mature the kid thinks he is, he'll find a way to take him down.

"Tempest!" Murk's voice shouts. Tim and Garth end their stare down to watch the soldier approach them. "There's been a case reported in the city, same symptoms as the others. The king is ordering us to retrieve the civilian to prevent more breakouts."

Garth nods his head, sparing one more glare at Tim before swimming away with Murk.

 

.

 

Tim's in the middle of sleep when his entire chamber shakes him awake. He rises from his bed and swims to the window, where he can hear people screaming as well as loud booming. He pulls back the curtains in time to see an Atlantean fall to his knees as strange ooze starts to cover his entire body, turning him into some mutated, eel-like, creature. It leaps out at the nearest Atlantean and starts tearing him to shreds. Based on what Tim knows about zombies, he half expects the victim to transform into a creature as well, but he dies from his wounds. The Atlanteans closest, however, have now also gotten the strange ooze and begin the horrible transformation into the creatures.

"It's the ooze," he whispers to himself, just as Garth breaks into his room.

"I'm escorting you to the king," He tells him. Tim nods his head and begins to follow him. With his whip being useless underwater, Tim can't properly defend himself with long range. He could only rely on his claws, but he wanted nothing more than to stay as far as he can from these creatures.

Garth takes hold of his arm and begins to pick up speed in his swimming, using his control over water to deflect any creature that tries to attack them. They reach the heavily guarded castle, but Tim can tell the guards are struggling to keep the monsters at bay.

When they enter the throne room, it's other occupants are Aquaman, Mera, Nuada, and a girl about Tula's age when she joined the Titans. "Report, Tempest," Aquaman orders.

"Dead Water is spreading faster than we predicted sir," Tempest tells him. "Murk and Queen S'ona have fallen to the mutations. King Iqula has retreated back to his palace."

"At this rate it'll be dangerous to isolate the infected without risk of contamination," Mera explains, turning to Aquaman. "My love, it's close to impossible."

Aquaman grunts, raising his trident. "We must kill Dead Water first, it'll be the only way the infection stops growing."

"Dead Water approaches the palace," Tempest reports.

"Then we will have battle," Nuada declares, turning to the girl next to her. "Dolphin, although you are sworn to protect me, I grant you permission to flee if I shall fall victim to Dead Water's curse."

Dolphin shakes her head. "No need, my queen."

At this, Tim waves his hands. "Uh, hi. Anyone wanna explain what the hell is going on?"

Aquaman sighs. "Dead Water is a enemy of Atlantis," He explains. "It's an infectious water from another realm that took on a marine engineer as a host. Until now we thought it could only take on one host at a time."

"And clearly you were wrong," Tim sums up, just as the doors to the throne room blow apart. Another eel-like creature swims through, but this one is bigger than the rest and has no ooze leaking through him. This one must be Dead Water.

"You are not welcomed here beast!" Aquaman shouts, hurling his trident at the creature. It dodges it, but can't escape the whirlpool Mera has created nor the ice blast Nuada produces. When it finally breaks free it lunges for Nuada, but Dolphin kicks it square in the chest, sending it across the room.

"You will all be my slaves!" It hisses, rising up. Mera goes in for a punch, but the monster spits ooze directly in her face.

"NO!!!" Aquaman screams. Everyone watches in horror as Mera begins to transform into an eel-like creature before she lunges at Aquaman. "Tempest!" Aquaman grunts as he fights off his wife. "Get Stray out of here, take him to the surface!"

Tim can tell Garth wants nothing to do with Tim's rescue but he bows his head before grabbing Tim again. When they swim off, Aquaman is pinning Mera down as Nuada and Dolphin try to take on Dead Water.

Garth swims faster than Tim's ever seen him, towards the outpost with the shuttle that'll take him to the surface. When they arrive, Tim swims into the shuttle and begins turning everything on, already knowing how to operate it.

"Will you know your way back?" Garth asks.

"Yes," Tim assures him. "I can bring back help."

"No," Garth says. "Dead Water can only die at the hands of an Atlantean. Those infected will return to normal after intensive water healing magic. Go, Atlantis is of no concern for you."

"But you are, Garth," Tim tells him. Despite these last twenty four hours, Tim still doesn't want to see his friend get hurt or worse. "I know I was a complete asshole when you first joined the team, but I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Garth glare softens and eventually he releases the tension in his body and sighs. "I wish you no harm either, Tim."

Tim smiles softly at that. Garth is the only connection he has left of the Titans (Wally doesn't count, he quit before Tim joined) and one of his only friends still alive. Despite how they view Superman, he still cares for him. "Go save your king."

"Goodbye, Stray."

Garth closes the door to the shuttle and swims off. Tim starts the machine up before driving up to the surface. When it reaches a certain point, all the water inside the shuttle is drained out and Tim is finally able to take off his breathing mask. As soon as he reaches the surface, he gets a call from Oracle.

"How'd it go?" she asks.

"Horrible," Tim tells her. "They can't fight."

"They refused?"

"No, that's not it," He says. "They're dealing with their own thing at the moment. Something that's keeping their armies busy and once they deal with it they'll be in no shape to take on Superman and his forces."

"Goddammit," Oracle hisses. "Alright. Head to the nearest Zeta Tube so we can come up with a plan. He's not going to be excited about this." Tim knows she's talking about Bruce, but they make it a point not to mention him on the line.

"None of us are," He says. With Aquaman and the Atlanteans benched, the Green Lanterns only have the members of the Insurgency to help take down Superman. Tim isn't the religious type, but he prays it's enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another update! So a big reason I did this chapter was to sort of create an explanation as to why Aquaman wasn't involved during Year Two. This will also explain his absence in Year Three although I plan on mentioning it once more during that year. Only two chapters of Year Two left and I can't wait for you all to read them. Please leave behind any comments on what you thought of the story, I love hearing for you. And Happy Halloween to anyone who celebrates! Hope it's fun and spooky for you!


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